


Forelsket

by hybridempress



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Agender Character, Alcohol, Cardverse, Child Abuse, Dark Magic, Depression, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Eventual Romance, Fantasy, M/M, Magic, Physical Abuse, Suicide Attempt, Underage Drinking
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-03-04
Updated: 2015-10-31
Packaged: 2018-03-16 08:06:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 63,183
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3480674
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hybridempress/pseuds/hybridempress
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After unwittingly preventing the suicide of young Prince of Spades Alfred Jones, a punk boy named Arthur quickly becomes the lonely Prince's only friend. Unfortunately, Alfred's father disapproves of the relationship, and Alfred must run away from his royal castle home to meet with Arthur in secret. Together, the two boys share adventures together while trying to keep their friendship a secret from everyone else. Along the way, Arthur learns more and more about Alfred's life at home and about how he is emotionally and physically abused by his father, the King of Spades. Arthur does everything he can to help Alfred see that he is so much more than his father says he is. It's not long before the boys develop a beautiful, blossoming romance.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Serendipitous Deal

**Author's Note:**

> Lmao I still can't summarize for the life of me
> 
> Anyways, this fic is based off of an rp I did with my best friend a while ago. While in our rp, we never actually roleplayed how Alfred and Arthur met each other, we discussed it, and this is the result of the backstory we created together. There's gonna be a lot of angst, fluff, action, romance and twists and turns that even I won't be expecting! But I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I'll enjoy writing it. Any feedback you have for me is greatly appreciated! Thanks!

     **Forelsket ( Fo-rel-sket ); Norwegian; The overwhelming and euphoric feeling of falling in love.**  


 

    

_"The mystery of human existence lies not in just staying alive, but in finding something to live for."_

_-Fyodor Dostoyevsky_

 

\---

  
    "How about I trade you this watch for it?"   
  
    The Prince of Spades unfastened his golden wristwatch and held it out to the young Joker, keeping a tight grip on the strap so that the Joker couldn't take it away from him without giving him what he had been asking for. The Joker, whom the Prince knew by the name of Peter, stuck his tongue out and pressed it against his upper lip as he stared at the wristwatch in thought, trying to decided whether it was a fair trade or not. After a few moments, his lips curled into a wide smile and he giggled softly in that mischievous way that all Jokers had somehow mastered.   
  
    "I'll take it!" he exclaimed, and reached out to grab it eagerly.   
  
    The Prince, whose name was Alfred, held the wristwatch out of Peter's reach and stared at him with a grim expression on his face. "Give me what I want first," he ordered.  
  
    Peter pouted and crossed his arms, a rather hurt expression on his face. "What, you don't trust me?" he asked.  
  
    "You're a Joker, kid. No one would trust you," Alfred replied monotonously.   
  
    "You wound me by saying such things, Your Majesty," Peter said dramatically. However, he shrugged. "But I suppose you're right, and I'll get what I want out of you no matter what."  
  
    He reached into the pocket of his jacket and fished around inside of it for a moment before finding the item that Alfred was trading him for and closing his fist around it. He pulled his hand out of his pocket and held the item out to Alfred. Alfred took it from him quickly and tossed the watch to him, which he caught in one hand with ease. He quickly pocketed the watch and stared at Alfred.  
  
    "You know there's no going back once you take that, right? It'll kill you in ten seconds and there's no antidote," he said.  
  
    Alfred nodded as he stared at the small glass vial of red liquid that he held in his hand. "I know..." he whispered.   
  
    Peter scoffed. "You know, for a Prince, you're a real chicken. You've got a life full of everything anyone could ever ask for and you're going to throw it away just because of some 'Daddy Issues' or whatever. What a loser," he jeered.   
  
    Alfred looked away from the vial and stared Peter dead in the eyes. His expression was blank, but the look in his eyes showed more fear and sadness than Peter had seen in his short yet adventurous life. "I know I am. And that's why I'm leaving," he said softly.   
  
    Peter continued to stare at him for a moment, feeling genuinely sorry for the poor Prince. However, he quickly shrugged off all his feelings of regret and sympathy and smirked at Alfred. "Suit yourself, Your Majesty. I can assure you, you won't be missed." Without another word, he snapped his fingers and disappeared.   
  
    Alfred stared at the vial for a few more moments before taking the cork out of it. He placed the vial under his nostrils and sniffed the liquid inside of it. The scent was so sickly sweet that it made him space out for a moment and gave him a headache. Though he didn't like the headache the scent had given him, he did like the scent itself. It made Death seem far more inviting to him than it had been.  
  
    He pressed the mouth of the vial to his lips and closed his eyes tightly. He parted his lips just enough so that the liquid could fall from the vial and into his mouth as he began to tilt his head back and the vial up, slowly. However, none of the liquid made it into his mouth, as he stopped tilting the vial up when he heard voices coming from outside of the alleyway that he was standing in.  
  
    "Get back here you asshats! I swear to the Elder Ace I'll rip you to shreds when I catch you if you don't give me back my money right now!"   
  
    Multiple sets of fast footsteps could be heard pounding on the pavement of the street. Alfred quickly placed the cork back into the mouth of the vial and shoved it into the pocket of his cloak. He pressed his back against the wall of the building closest to him and watched as two teenage boys, a few years older than Alfred, came running into the alley. A third teenage boy, who was clad far differently than the other two and looked rather furious, came chasing after them.   
  
    "You sons of bitches are going to have hell to pay for messing with me!" the third boy shouted. The other two just laughed.  
  
    Alfred became aware of a rhythmic clinking of what sounded like coins growing steadily closer to him. He glanced towards the two boys who were running in his direction and noticed that one of them was carrying a small satchel, and that was where the clinking noise was coming from. Alfred realized that those boys had stolen the other's money.   
  
    It appeared that none of the three boys had noticed Alfred yet, and Alfred guessed that they were too preoccupied with running as fast as their legs would allow rather than looking for people pressed against the wall of the alley. He wasn't going to let the thieves get away with stealing the other boy's money. He wanted to stop them.   
  
    Unfortunately, he was smaller than the other boys and probably nowhere near as strong. He couldn't attack them. However, he did have the element of surprise with him, and he decided to use that to his advantage. As the boys were running past him, he stuck one of his legs out in front of them. Neither of them saw him until it was too late, and they both tripped over his leg, taking face-dives into the pavement beneath them.  
  
    The third boy dived on top of the other two and immediately ripped the satchel from the boy who was holding it. Afterwards, he punched the boy in the face, stood up, and kicked the other boy in the head. Both of them had to bite their lips to stop themselves from yelling out in pain. Instead they only grunted and whimpered as they sat up slowly and stared at the boy who had beat them.   
  
    The other boy stared at them with a frighteningly furious look on his face. His emerald eyes burned with a rage that Alfred had seldom seen in anyone. He gritted his teeth and hissed at them. "Now, I'm going to give you lads until the count of three, and if you are not out of my sight by the time I'm finished, I'll make you wish you were dead, understand?"   
  
    The thieves said nothing. He began his count. "One... Two..."  
  
    The thieves scrambled to their feet as quickly as possible and darted off in the direction opposite of where the boy was standing. He smirked, placed the strap of his satchel over his shoulder and dusted his hands off. He chuckled to himself and looked at Alfred. "Thanks a lot for the help, mate. I really appreciate it," he said gratefully.  
  
    Now that he wasn't running or fighting with the other boys, Alfred could see him more clearly. He had short, shaggy blond hair and a pair of the most sparkling emerald eyes that Alfred had ever seen in his life. His eyebrows were big and bushy but did not make his face any less attractive. He wore a black tank-top, which allowed Alfred to see the elaborate tattoos that covered both of his arms, and there were some visible on his chest, as well. He had earrings, a lip ring and a nose ring, as well. His fingernails were painted black. He wore tight jeans that were ripped at the knees and black converse sneakers. Alfred had never seen a better definition of the word "punk".   
  
    "O-oh, yeah, it was no problem, ah...-" Alfred trailed off, realizing he didn't know the boy's name.   
  
    "Arthur. The name's Arthur," the boy said, and offered his hand for Alfred to shake.   
  
    Alfred smiled softly. "Right, okay. It was no problem, Arthur," he said, taking Arthur's hand and shaking it. It was at that point he decided it would be alright to come out of the shadows from where he was currently hiding and stand in front of Arthur. "My name's Alfred, by the way," he said.   
  
    Arthur's mouth dropped open upon seeing Alfred clearly for the first time and his eyes went wide with shock. Alfred frowned. "What, what's wrong...? Why are you staring at me like that...?" he asked.  
  
    "Y-you're...-" Arthur clamped a hand over his mouth and continued to stare at Alfred for a moment before removing his hand and speaking again. "You're the Prince of Spades!"   
  
    Alfred blushed and averted his eyes. He rubbed the back of his neck, feeling embarrassed that he had drawn such attention to himself. "A-ah, w-well...-"  
  
    Arthur didn't hesitate another second in kneeling to the ground before Alfred and bowing his head. "I beg your pardon for acting so informally towards you, Your Majesty. I didn't realize who you were," he said apologetically.   
  
    "N-no, no! Cut the formality crap, Arthur, please... I-it's just Alfred. Just call me Alfred," he requested. Alfred had always hated formalities and being addressed with titles such as "Your Majesty". He'd never felt that he was worthy of such respect. In his eyes, he was only as special as any average commoner.  
  
    "But... Your Majesty..." Arthur questioned, raising his head up to look at Alfred.   
  
    Alfred stared him dead in the eyes. "I  _said_  call me  _Alfred,_ " he repeated, the tone of his voice sounding almost commanding. "I hate formalities, okay? I'm not any better than you are, despite my royal status. And besides, you look older than me," he said.   
  
    Arthur slowly rose to his feet again and continued to stare at Alfred. "I'm eighteen, Yo-... Alfred," he informed.   
  
    "I'm sixteen," Alfred said, and smiled softly.  
  
    Arthur smiled back at him. "So what's someone as noble as you doing wandering alone in an alleyway in a foreign Kingdom, anyways? Didn't you and your father come here to discuss something with the King and Queen of Hearts?" he inquired.   
  
    Alfred shrugged. "My father doesn't need my help with anything. He only ever brings me with him 'cuz he thinks I'll get into trouble if he lets me stay in Spades. He tells me he's bringing me so that he can teach me how to deal with diplomatic issues and whatever, but I never really learn anything. He basically just tells one of our guards to nanny me and I never get to see the meetings," he explained.   
  
    Arthur pursed his lips. "I don't see your guard around anywhere..." he pointed out.  
  
    "I ditched 'im," Alfred replied nonchalantly. "I was bored and I wanted some adventure, so I came outside by myself to look around," he explained, deciding to leave out the fact that he had attempted to down a bottle of incurable poison only moments before Arthur and the thieves entered the alley.   
  
    Arthur grinned broadly and laughed. "Well, looks like the Prince of Spades is quite the sly little bugger, isn't he?" he asked. Alfred blushed softly and shrugged, a smile growing on his face.   
  
    "Well, you might as well see all you can before they come to get you back. I know this city like the back of my hand. I could show you around if you'd like," Arthur offered.   
  
    Alfred nodded. "Yeah, I'd like that," he said.   
  
    "Great!" Arthur exclaimed. "Are you hungry? Because I know a great place to get some food and we can definitely start our tour there."  
  
    Alfred nodded a little. "Yeah, that sounds like a good idea to me. I haven't had anything to eat since this morning," he replied.  
  
    "Fantastic," Arthur declared. "Well, follow me then." He began walking towards the exit of the alley.  
  
    Alfred followed him quickly. "Oh, but wait a second, Arthur," he requested, the tone of his voice sounding a bit wary.  
  
    Arthur stopped walking and turned his head to look at Alfred. "Yeah?" he asked.  
  
    "D'you know where I could get some commoner's clothes...? I can't really be walking around the city looking like royalty... It'll attract too much attention," Alfred said after he had stopped walking.   
  
    Arthur's eyes widened at Alfred's words. "Oh! That's right..." He cupped his own chin in his hand and rubbed it in thought. "I suppose we could go back to my place and get some of my clothes. Or I could go and you could stay here... But I'm not sure if they'd fit you..." he murmured.   
  
    Alfred also thought for a moment before suggesting something else. "Do you... Is there a place in this city where you can trade things? You know, you could trade one piece of clothing for another that you find in the shop?" he asked.  
  
    Arthur nodded. "Well, yes, there is. It's not too far from here, actually," he replied.  
  
    Alfred smiled a little. "Great," he said. He then reached into the pocket of his coat where he had placed the vial of poison, wrapped his fist around it, pulled it out and stuck it into the pocket of his trousers instead. After that, he slipped off his coat and took off his shoes. He held them all out to Arthur.   
  
    "Take these to the shop and trade them for a commoner's cloak, preferably one that can cover all or most of me, and some dingy shoes," he instructed.   
  
    Arthur's eyes widened again. "A-Alfred, th-these are clothes made for royalty! These are more expensive than most people in this village could ever afford! Y-you can't just trade them for some commoner's clothes!" he protested.   
  
    Alfred sighed a little. "Arthur, I don't care about the value of these clothes... If they're really that expensive, then I want someone else to be able to enjoy them for once. I'm sure someone in this village needs them more than I do and definitely deserves them more than I do. I just want to fit in around here. So please take them and exchange them for what I asked," he pleaded.  
  
    Arthur stared at Alfred and the clothes in his hands warily. He didn't feel right giving away the Prince of Spades' clothes like that. However, the desperate look in Alfred's eyes made him give in. The Prince looked so pathetic to him. It made him feel guilty for refusing the request in the first place.   
  
    "Alright, alright..." he muttered and reluctantly took the clothes from Alfred. The pathetic look on Alfred's face disappeared instantly and he smiled at Arthur again. Arthur couldn't help but smile softly as well.  
  
    "I'll be back as soon as I can, alright? Don't go anywhere," he said.  
  
    "I won't move from this spot. I promise," Alfred replied.   
  
    "Great. Be back in a jiff," Arthur said. With that, he quickly dashed out of the alley and off to the trading shop to get Alfred some informal clothes.   
  
    When he came back, his face looked rather flushed, but it was not because he was out of breath. If anything, he looked embarrassed. He was carrying a long black cloak and some dirty shoes in his arms, just as Alfred had requested. When Arthur was standing close enough to Alfred, he thrust the clothes into the Prince's arms. It seemed like Arthur was avoiding eye contact with Alfred.   
  
    Alfred took the clothes from him, but raised an eyebrow. "Arthur...?" he asked. "Why's your face all red...? Why aren't you looking at me?"  
  
    Arthur stood up straight and looked at Alfred's face, but not at his eyes. "S-sorry, I just... Everyone in the shop was giving me weird looks. Everyone kept asking me where I got the clothes from and why the hell I wanted to trade them for these ugly things and... Well I wouldn't be surprised if everyone in the shop had thought I'd stolen them," he replied.   
  
    Alfred shrugged a little. "Well, you didn't steal them. I gave them to you. As long as you know that, you shouldn't feel guilty," he said. "Besides, in the worst case scenario, they send someone after you, and if they find you, I'll be there too. And I can tell them what really happened. You won't get in trouble for it, so don't worry about it."   
  
    Arthur smiled faintly and finally looked Alfred in the eyes. "Yeah, I suppose you're right."   
  
    He watched as Alfred fastened the cloak around his neck. It was long enough and thick enough to cover all of his body, and it had a hood so that he could cover his head, as well. He had a bit of a hard time getting the shoes on, since they were a bit smaller in size than what he was used to, but he managed to get his feet into them eventually. He looked at Arthur once he was finished.  
  
    "So, do I look like a commoner or what?" he asked.   
  
    Arthur gave him a thumbs up. "A right poor one, too," he informed.   
  
    Alfred laughed a little. "Great!" he exclaimed, but pursed his lips a little afterwards. "I kind of want to take my glasses off, since most people around here would only have seen me with them on... But I'm pretty much blind as a bat without them. I'm really,  _really_ nearsighted," he explained.   
  
    "Well, you could still take them off if you wanted..." Arthur said. "I mean, as long as you don't mind me holding on to you, I could guide you around and make sure you don't bump into anything," he suggested.   
  
    "I guess that could work," Alfred replied. "But then... I wouldn't get to see a lot of the village and wherever else you wanna take me. Everything'll be all blurry," he pointed out.   
  
    Arthur's face fell a little. "Oh, that's right..." he muttered.   
  
    "Hey, don't worry about it. I'll just leave the glasses on, it's no big deal," Alfred said.   
  
    "Are you sure?" Arthur asked.  
  
    "Positive," Alfred answered.  
  
    Arthur smiled. "Well, let's be on our way, then! Follow me!" he exclaimed, and he began to run out of the alley. Alfred followed quickly behind him.   
  
    The first place that Arthur led Alfred too was a tavern only a few blocks away from the alley. They went in together and quickly found a table in the back left corner of the room, which was farthest away from the door. A waitress brought a menu for each of them, but Alfred was the only one who looked at his. Arthur had been here enough times to know what he wanted to eat already.   
  
    "Everything here is delicious, so you really can't go wrong with what you order," Arthur assured after seeing that Alfred was having a bit of a hard time picking something out.   
  
    "Oh, I'm sure it is," Alfred agreed, nodding a little. "It's just that..." he trailed off. Arthur noticed that his face looked a bit red.  
  
    "It's just that what...?" Arthur asked, raising an eyebrow.   
  
    Alfred bit his lip for a moment before continuing to speak in a very quiet voice. "I haven't heard of any of this stuff before... At the castle in Spades, we never just have a simple meal, and everything we eat has names I can't even pronounce half the time. I'm sure that the stuff they have here is ten times better than the nasty shit I usually have to eat, but I don't know what any of it is..." he admitted.   
  
    Arthur's face softened and he laughed a little. "Oh, Alfred, you should have said something earlier!" he exclaimed. "I'll order for you, then," he said. "Don't worry, you'll love it."   
  
    When the waitress came back and asked for the boys' orders, Arthur responded with "Two King of Hearts and two Pepper Jack Brats." The waitress winked at him before walking off to the kitchen again.  
  
    A few minutes later, the waitress returned, carrying a tray of food with her. There were two tall soda glasses filled with a thick, creamy light brown liquid. There was a gingerbread cookie sticking out of the top of each glass. The liquid looked like ice cream, albeit less frozen and meant for drinking rather than eating. There were also two plates on the tray, each with the same meal. A long bread bun with a large sausage resting inside of it. There were small bowls of coleslaw and sauerkraut on the plates, as well as an even smaller bowl of some kind of mustard.   
  
    The waitress picked the plates and the glasses up off of the tray and set them down on the table in front of the boys one at a time. When she had finished, she flashed a smile at both of them, saying "Enjoy your meal, boys!" and running off again.  
  
    Alfred stared at the liquid in the glass curiously. He'd never really had one before, but he knew what a bratwurst was. However, he was completely confused as to what this ice cream-like substance was. It looked and smelled delicious, but it was far too informal to ever be eaten in the Castle of Spades.   
  
    He looked at Arthur with his eyes narrowed. "What's this?" he inquired and pointed to the glass.   
  
    Arthur had already begun to eat his bratwurst, but he put it back down on the plate and chewed hurriedly in order to answer Alfred's question without his mouth full of food. "It's called a milkshake," he said eventually. "It tastes like chocolate ice cream and gingerbread. There's different flavors, but this one is my favorite. They're delicious!" he exclaimed.   
  
    He then proceeded to pick his straw up from the table and put it inside of his glass. He started sucking on the straw, drinking the milkshake through it. Alfred observed him for a moment before attempting to do the same and finding it incredibly easy. On top of that, the milkshake was exactly what Arthur had said it would be. Delicious.   
  
    Alfred closed his eyes and hummed softly, enjoying the cold sensation of the milkshake inside of his mouth and enjoying the taste of it even more. It was a lot simpler than the desserts he was used to eating, but he had to admit that it tasted a lot better than most of them, at least in his opinion. "This is fantastic!" he exclaimed after having drank half of it in one go.   
  
    Arthur laughed softly. "I told you so," he said and picked up his bratwurst again.   
  
    Alfred picked his bratwurst up, as well, and took a small bite of it without putting anything on it. It was chewy and spicy and Alfred fell in love with it instantly. It wasn't long before he had smothered it with mustard and even put some sauerkraut on it. The meal he was eating now was more delicious than anything he had eaten in a very long time.   
  
    After the two of them had finished eating, Arthur paid for the meal before Alfred even had the chance to explain that he would have paid if it weren't for the fact that he hadn't brought any money with him. Even so, as he and Arthur were walking out of the tavern together, Alfred decided to bring it up. "I'll pay you back someday," he promised. "I just don't have any money with me today."  
  
    Arthur waved his hand dismissively. "Forget about it. It was an honor to be able to pay for the Prince of Spades' lunch," he assured, and laughed whole-heartedly.   
  
    Alfred smiled softly. "I'm lucky to have run into someone as kind as you," he said.  
  
    At these words, Arthur scoffed. "Are you kidding me? It's only because you haven't gotten on my bad side. Believe me, I can be a real bitch when I want to be," he declared.   
  
    The words made Alfred feel a bit uneasy, but nevertheless, he shrugged them off and forced himself to laugh. "I'll try to stay on your good side, then..." he said.  
  
    Arthur grinned. "Oh, don't worry, it shouldn't be too hard. At least for you, anyways. You seem like a pretty likable person," he observed.   
  
    "R-really?" Alfred asked, sounding very surprised. Despite his royal status, he didn't get paid compliments like that very often. In fact, he was usually ridiculed by everyone around him at every opportunity given to them. He wasn't used to having nice things said about him.  
  
    Arthur nodded. "Yeah, really," he said.  
  
    Alfred smiled sheepishly. "Well, you know, I think you're a pretty likable guy, too."   
  
    Arthur showed Alfred as much of the city as possible with the little time that they had. Alfred had said that it would be a good idea for him to get back to Hearts Castle by three o'clock, half an hour before the meeting between the King of Spades and the King and Queen of Hearts was supposed to end. It was two o'clock right now. That gave them another hour to spend together.   
  
    Arthur showed him the market and the village where he lived. Exploring the market took up most of their time, and they passed through Arthur's village while running back to the castle. Alfred swore that one day, he'd come back to Hearts with some money and buy so many things from the market that he'd make every single one of the merchants rich. He had fallen in love with the simplicity of the commoner's city and found that he thought it would be much more enjoyable than the life he had to live in the Castle of Spades.   
  
    Everything seemed wonderful to Alfred as he and Arthur raced through the city, trying to make it back to the castle on time. He had quite forgotten about his attempted suicide earlier that day and felt none of the horrible sadness and loneliness that he had been experiencing prior to meeting Arthur. Arthur seemed to make all of that disappear and left Alfred feeling joyful and free for the first time in longer than Alfred could remember. But of course, this euphoric feeling was too good to be true, and it was taken from both of them far too quickly.   
  
    "Look, there he is! After him!"   
  
    At first, Alfred and Arthur hadn't realized that the voice they heard shouting was talking about them, or more specifically, Arthur. That being said, they didn't start running away from the group of Spades Guards and Heart Police that were quickly approaching them until it was too late. By the time Arthur realized that the Police intended on capturing him, they were too close to be outrun.   
  
    "Alfred, the Police are after  _us!_  We need to get out of here!" he shouted.   
  
    The two boys picked up their pace, but to no avail. They were quickly surrounded by the group of Guards and Police. Alfred was the first to be grabbed. He let out a loud gasp and a soft scream as he tried to tear his arm from the grip of the brutish police officer who was holding him. Unfortunately, he wasn't strong enough to get away on his own.   
  
    "Let go of him, you bastard!" Arthur shouted and delivered a powerful kick to the police officer's arm. The officer had no choice but to let Alfred go, and Alfred stumbled backwards and fell to the ground, his hood falling off of his head.  
  
    One of the Spades Guards noticed who he was and quickly called off the attacks on him. "Don't touch the boy in the cloak! He's the missing Prince! Don't harm him!"   
  
    Alfred stayed on the ground and could only watch as Arthur was grabbed by two of the strongest men in the group and held tightly by them. There was no way he could escape and no way that Alfred could save him. One of the men grabbed Arthur's hair roughly, and both men forced Arthur to his knees. He grunted in pain and spat at their feet.   
  
    Alfred scrambled to his feet and rushed to Arthur's side, but another man grabbed him and held him back. "Let me go!" he screamed. "I am your Prince and I demand to be let go this instant! Let Arthur go, too! Let us go you big jerks!" None of the men listened to him.   
  
    Some of the men shifted to created a semi-circle rather than a full circle. They had parted to let another man through. The King of Spades. He was closely followed by the King and Queen of Hearts.   
  
    Every man in the squad saluted to the royalty that had arrived. The man who was holding Arthur's hair spoke. "We caught the thief, sir, and luckily before he could hurt the Prince," he informed.   
  
    The King of Spades approached Arthur and stood in front of him. Arthur stared up at him, and the two of them held eye contact for several seconds before the King kicked Arthur in the face. Arthur let out a yelp of shock and pain and let his head drop. He stared at the ground as blood dripped from his mouth and nose. Alfred screamed.  
  
    "Father stop it! Don't touch him! Stop hurting him!" he pleaded.  
  
    The King of Spades turned swiftly on his heels and slapped his son across the face. "Silence, Alfred. You were not spoken to. This is none of your concern," he hissed. Alfred bit his lip and did his best to hold back the tears that were beginning to form in his eyes. Seemingly satisfied, the King turned around to face Arthur again.   
  
    "My my, you certainly are a  _brave_  criminal, now aren't you...? First, you kidnap a Prince. A Prince of a foreign kingdom, no less. Then, you steal his clothes and try to pawn them off for something far less valuable, and  you expect to get away with it? I must say, I am amused by you and your little game. But, unfortunately, you are going to have to pay the price for your actions," he said darkly.   
  
    "What... Would that price be... Y-Your Majesty...?" Arthur inquired, but refused to look at the King.   
  
    "Well, the punishment for attacking a person of Royal Status in all four Kingdoms is... Death," the King informed. Arthur said nothing.  
  
    Alfred, on the other hand, lashed out. "Father no, you can't kill him! Don't you lay a finger on him, do you understand!? He didn't do _anything_  to me! I gave him my clothes to trade! I ran away from the castle of my own accord and didn't meet Arthur until I was already out! This isn't Arthur's fault at all, it's mine!" he yelled. He struggled against the grip of the Guard who was holding him, but he couldn't break free.  
  
    The King turned to look at him again and glared daggers at him. "I said silence, Alfred! Don't make me hit you again!" he shouted.   
  
    Alfred glared right back at his father. "I don't care if you hit me again," he hissed. "Hit me as many times as you want! Beat me black and blue for all I care, but don't you  _dare_  lay a  _finger_  on  _Arthur!_ "  
  
    Alfred gave his body one final jerk and was somehow able to tear himself away from the grasp of the Guard who was holding him. He raced to Arthur's side and fell to his knees in front of the emerald-eyed boy. He stretched his arms out to his sides and stared up at his father for a moment before moving his eyes to the King and Queen of Hearts, who were standing behind his father and watching the scene unfold.  
  
    "P-please, Y-Your Majesties... Arthur's from your kingdom and this... This 'crime' took place in this kingdom, which means you two have control over what happens to him! I swear on my  _life_  that Arthur has done me no wrong. Everything that my father thinks has happened was all my fault. Please,  _please_  don't punish Arthur. H-he was just going along with what I told him to do!"   
  
    The King of Spades immediately turned to look at the King and Queen of Hearts. "Please, don't listen to a word that my  _delusional_  son is speaking. This  _punk_  has obviously done something to my son to make him defend the boy. I  _demand_  that you have this boy executed as soon as possible," he commanded.  
  
    Alfred shook his head frantically and put his hands together in prayer-fashion. He had finally started to cry at this point. "Please don't, p-please don't touch him...! L-let him go...!" he pleaded.  
  
    Everyone else was silent for a while, until finally, the King of Hearts spoke up. "I'm sorry, Robert, but you are not the victim in all of this. Your son is. No harm has befallen him other than the blow you dealt to him. If your son does not press charges against the accused, then there is nothing I can do. The boy's life will be spared," he informed.  
  
    Alfred's smile upon hearing those words was brighter than a thousand suns. The King of Spades' expression, however, was darker than that of an angry demon. "You can't be serious!" he exclaimed.  
  
    "I'm afraid I am," the King of Hearts retorted. He looked at the men who were holding Arthur and snapped his fingers. "Let the boy go," he commanded.   
  
    "Yes sir," both men said simultaneously and let go of Arthur.   
  
    Alfred turned around and hugged Arthur tightly, burying his face in the other boy's shoulder. Arthur hugged him back just as tightly. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, oh my God I almost got you killed and I'm so sorry oh God I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry-"  
  
    Arthur shook his head and rubbed Alfred's back gently. "No, no, there's no need to apologize, Alfred. It was all a big misunderstanding. It was just a mistake. You saved me. Everything's alright now. I forgive you. Stop apologizing, and stop crying, please," he whispered.  
  
    Alfred took deep breaths to try and calm down. Unfortunately, as soon as he had stopped crying, his father tore him away from Arthur's arms and forced him to his feet. "Son, we're going home," he hissed.  
  
    Alfred reached his arm out to Arthur desperately, but couldn't reach. The King of Spades was already dragging him away. Arthur scrambled to his feet and began to run after Alfred, but the Spades Guards blocked his way.  
  
    "Arthur!" Alfred shouted, trying to struggle against his father, but for every time he tried to jerk himself free, his father would tighten his grip until Alfred's arm started going numb, and he gave up.  
  
    Arthur stood on his tiptoes and started jumping up and down to see over the heads of the guards. "Alfred! I'll see you again, okay!? I'll find a way, I promise!" he shouted.  
  
    The King of Spades shoved Alfred into the backseat of the small black limousine that was parked in the street some yards away from the commotion. He slammed the door in Alfred's face and snapped his fingers at the guards. Immediately, all of them came to the limousine and got into it. The King of Spades made no attempt at a civil goodbye to the King and Queen of Hearts. Instead, he simply glared at both of them before climbing into the passenger seat of the car.  
  
    The drive back to the Spades Kingdom was already a long one. Hearts was the second farthest Kingdom from Spades. Unfortunately, the drive was made even longer for Alfred by the lecture his father gave him.   
  
    "What on  _Earth_  were you thinking, Alfred!? You made it so a criminal got away without any punishment at all! That reckless, sinister boy is now free to do whatever he pleases  _because of you!_  God knows what he's going to steal next, or who he's going to attack!"   
  
    "I already told you,  _Father,_  Arthur is  _not_  a criminal! I gave him my clothes to trade and I asked him to show me around the village! I escaped from the castle on my own!" Alfred growled through gritted teeth.  
  
    "Don't talk back to me, boy! And don't try to push your luck just because I can't reach back there to slap you right now!" his father commanded.  
  
    "I'm not afraid to stand up for what's right, Father! Arthur didn't do anything! It was all my fault!" Alfred shouted.   
  
    "Even if that was the case, you're  _still_  in trouble! If that's the case, you almost got an innocent boy killed because you couldn't just stay in the castle like you were told! You caused a great deal of inconvenience to me, the King of Hearts, the Queen of Hearts and all those guards and police men, and you've made it so ties between our Kingdoms are going to be very loose. Goddammit, Alfred, why the hell can you never just do as you are told!?"   
  
    Alfred stared at his hands in his lap. "I-I never meant to cause any trouble... I-I just wanted to go out for a while..." he whimpered.   
  
     _"Just shut your mouth!"_  the King screamed. Alfred flinched and was silent for the rest of the drive.    
  
    When they finally arrived back at the castle, Alfred rushed into his bedroom immediately, slammed the door shut and locked it. He pressed his back against the door and slid to the floor. He pulled his knees to his chest and buried his face in them. The tears he'd been holding back in the car were now pouring from his eyes like waterfalls.   
  
    It was now, when he was completely and utterly alone, that he realized everything his father said to him was true. He'd almost gotten Arthur executed. He'd gotten Arthur blamed for stealing from and attacking royalty from another Kingdom. He'd interrupted and important meeting that would probably have a very big affect on how the two Kingdoms treated each other from now on. He'd probably made it so that Arthur looked bad and untrustworthy to the other people in his village. He'd ruined everything.   
  
    Alfred tore his cloak off and reached into the pocket of his trousers. He quickly closed his fist around the vial of poison and pulled it out. With shaking hands, he removed the cork from the mouth of the vial and held it to his lips. He took a deep breath and prepared to drink the deadly liquid, but as he was about to tilt his head back, he remembered what Arthur had said to him earlier.  
  
     _"No, no, there's no need to apologize, Alfred. It was all a big misunderstanding. It was just a mistake. You saved me. Everything's alright now. I forgive you."  
  
    "Alfred! I'll see you again, okay!? I'll find a way, I promise!"_  
  
    Alfred had had more fun with Arthur today than he had ever had in his entire life. Arthur wasn't mad at him, either. Arthur wanted to see him again... And Alfred would give anything to spend another day with him. Alfred couldn't die before saying goodbye to Arthur. And maybe, as long as Alfred could see Arthur again, there was something worth living for.   
  
    Alfred smiled softly and took the vial away from his lips. He took his glasses off and wiped his eyes with the back of hand. He sniffled twice and replaced his glasses before standing up and walking to his bathroom. He stood in front of the sink and poured every last drop of poison straight into the drain. He threw the empty vial and the cork into the trash bin beside the bathroom counter. He didn't have time to think about killing himself now. He had to find a way to see Arthur again, and he wasn't going to give up until he did.


	2. The Jack's Bargain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's been days since Alfred's adventure with Arthur in the Heart's Kingdom, and he's beginning to lose hope in finding a way to contact his friend again. However, he finds an intriguing method of messaging from a lecture by the Jack of Spades, Yao Wang. Unfortunately, the suspicious Jack catches on to Alfred's motives and intercepts Arthur's reply to Alfred's message. Now, Alfred must strike a deal with the Jack in order to keep Yao from giving Alfred's secret to his father.

 

_"Sir, more than kisses, letters mingle souls; for, thus friends absent speak"_

_-John Donne_

 

 

\---

  
    The roses. They looked like the flowers that had been inked into the skin of the boy who had saved Alfred's life. Alfred spent all the time that he could in the garden of the Castle of Spades, just staring at the roses, and wishing that Arthur was there with him.   
  
    It had been three days since their encounter in the Hearts Kingdom. Alfred's father had been even more furious with him than usual and had therefore made his son's life even more of a living hell than he already believed it was. On top of that, he had still found no way to contact Arthur since the event. He didn't know where exactly Arthur lived, so he couldn't send a letter. He didn't know if Arthur had a cell phone or an email, or if they even had cell phones and computers in the Hearts Kingdom. Hearts was a lot simpler with technology compared to Spades. All the kingdoms were.   
  
    There was no way he could ask for help, from anyone. His father would most likely beat him if he ever found out that Alfred was trying to keep in contact with Arthur, and he didn't know anyone within the castle walls that he could trust. If his mother were around, he could have spoken to her. She would have helped him for sure. But she was long gone. It seemed to Alfred that he would never be able to see Arthur again.  
  
    "Alfred... Alfred are you listening to me? For Heaven's sake, boy, would you pull your head out of your own ass and listen to me for once!?"  
  
    Alfred was awoken from his daydreams when a swift but sharp blow was dealt to the back of his head with the palm of his instructor's hand. Said instructor's name was Yao Wang, the Jack of Spades. Alfred cringed and looked up at the old man. "S-sorry, Yao... I was just thinking about something..." he muttered.   
  
    Yao flicked Alfred's forehead with his thumb and index fingers, causing Alfred to flinch again. "You will address me as 'Mr. Wang' during class time. You should know the rules by now, Young Master Jones," he instructed, his voice dripping with disdain. Alfred was sure that Yao hated him as much as his father did.   
  
    "Yes sir, Mr. Wang..." Alfred murmured.   
  
    Yao grunted in annoyance. "Good. Now, would you  _please_  be so kind as to tell me what we're learning about today?" he inquired.  
  
    "U-um... About the different methods that were used to deliver messages during The War of Change...?" Alfred asked, silently praying that he had been paying enough attention to know at least what they were discussing.  
  
    "Specifically...?" Yao pushed.   
  
    Alfred bit his lip and thought for a few seconds before blurting out his answer desperately. "H-how animals were used as messengers!"  
  
    Yao narrowed his eyes at Alfred as if to say  _You got lucky this time, asshat._  
  
    "Hm. It seems you were paying attention, after all," he said instead. "Now, please pay attention so that we can finish our lesson more quickly," he requested, and continued to drone on about the different animals that were used as messengers on the battlefields of the War of Change.   
  
    "...But of course, birds were the ideal messengers. They could fly and therefore get to and from places far more quickly than other animals, and in addition to that, they were harder to be intercepted. The hummingbird was the favorite of the soldiers in the Spades Kingdom, for several reasons. They were small and therefore less likely to be seen by enemies, and their speed combined with their size made it nearly impossible for them to be shot down. They..."  
  
    Yao trailed off when he saw Alfred's hand shoot into the air, signifying that he had a question to ask, and by the look on his face, it was a rather important question, too. Listening to Yao explain how birds and other animals were used to deliver messages had given Alfred a spectacular idea about how he could contact Arthur again.   
  
    "Yes, Young Master...?" Yao asked, the tone of his voice now sounding annoyed.   
  
    "I-I just wanted to know  _how_  the birds knew where to go to deliver the letters..." Alfred asked quietly.   
  
    "The birds were enchanted by magicians of the Royal Court, such as myself. They were enchanted to be able to understand what their masters said to them. They were told a location and shown a picture of a person who the message was intended for and were able to find their targets that way," Yao explained.   
  
    "Are there still birds like that around?" Alfred asked.  
  
    Yao raised an eyebrow. He was pleasantly surprised by the amount of interest Alfred was taking in this lesson. He couldn't remember the last time Alfred had paid this much attention to him. He nodded subtly. "Yes, there are still birds like that around. They are very rare, but they do exist. In fact, we keep some here in the garden. All of the hummingbirds in the aviary are enchanted," he informed.   
  
    Alfred's eyes lit up like stars. "That's so cool!" he exclaimed, trying his hardest to not give away any hint of why he was so excited.   
  
    Yao couldn't hide the small smile that formed on his lips at seeing how enthused his student was. "I'm glad you're finally taking an interest in your learning, Young Master," he said pleasantly.   
  
    Alfred stayed completely engaged in Yao's lectures for the remainder of the lesson, keeping up the bravado that he actually cared about the educational aspect of the lesson and showing no signs of his true motive. The lesson ended on a particularly light note and for the first time in what seemed like forever, Yao wasn't on the verge of throwing his lesson book at Alfred's head. After the lesson, Yao left Alfred to his own devices, which was when he began to put his plan into action.  
  
    The first thing he did was rush to his room and pull a pen and paper out of his desk. One of the only things Alfred was proud of himself for was his ability to draw. The only real person he had ever tried to draw before was his mother. It had taken years of practice to make his drawings of her look even remotely close to being as beautiful as she actually was, but he was sure that he could at least make his sketch of Arthur look recognizable.   
  
    He set to work right away, starting with the neck and slowly working his way to the outline of the face. When he began filling in the details, he started at the bottom and worked his way to the top. Mouth, nose, and then eyes... He tried so hard to capture the rebellious sparkle that Arthur had. Drawing the eyebrows after the eyes seemed to dull the accomplishment of making the eyes look gorgeous, but Alfred knew that when he was completely finished, it would be one of the works that he was most proud of.   
  
    The hair was a lot harder than he had expected it to be, but eventually, he finished, and he stared at it triumphantly.  _It's beautiful..._  he thought to himself, and stared at it for a moment longer before before setting it aside and pulling out another piece of paper. Now that he had a picture to show the hummingbird, he needed to write a letter for it to take to Arthur. He quickly picked up his pen again and began writing.   
  
     _Arthur,_  
  
    _It's Alfred! It took me three days, but I finally found a way to write to you! Though, I don't know when you'll get this letter, if you ever do... I'm not a hundred percent sure this whole "send a hummingbird to find you" thing will work... But I'm praying! I'm not really sure what else to say here... I've never really written a letter before, you know? But I guess I want to know if there are easier ways to contact you. Like, you know, do you have a cellphone or a home phone or a computer or any other ideas about how we could communicate to each other besides bird messaging? Something tells me that bird messaging won't last us very long... Anyways, I guess as soon as we find a way to keep in contact with each other, we can figure out how to see each other again! So, you know, just write me back, if you want to, and give the letter to the bird. He'll know how to get it back to me! Hopefully..._  
  
_-Alfred_  
  
    Alfred must have read over his letter a thousand times before he finally decided to roll it up and wrap a rubber band around it. He wasn't entirely sure that he was happy with it. He was sure that he could have made it better, somehow, but he didn't want to waste another moment in sending it to Arthur. It was good enough for now. He'd make his next letter better, assuming he ever got the chance to write another one.   
  
    He stuffed the letter into the pocket of his coat before doing the same with his sketch of Arthur. Once he had put his pen away, he raced out of his bedroom as quickly as his legs could carry him and ran to the garden. The aviary was set up at the very back of the garden. It was a long run, as the garden was quite large, and Alfred was completely out of breath by the end of it. However, he didn't stop running even once until he was standing in front of the aviary door.   
  
    Once he had caught his breath and was able to walk properly again, he strode towards the door of the aviary, reached his hand out to grab the door handle and pulled the door open. He stepped inside and shut the door quickly, and he soon began scouring the enormous birdcage for one of the enchanted hummingbirds Yao had taught him about.   
  
    Surprisingly, it didn't take him long to spot one. When he did spot it, he held his hand out to it carefully and tried calling to it. "Hey, little guy... C'mere, please..."  
  
    The hummingbird seemed to hear him and turned its little head to look at him. Alfred smiled softly at it and beckoned it to him. "Yeah, c'mere, I have a job for you..." he whispered.  
  
    The hummingbird flew to him slowly and landed in the palm of his hand. Alfred giggled as its tiny talons tickled his fingers while it walked across his hand. With his free hand, he reached into his coat pocket and grabbed the letter out of it. He held it in front of the bird.   
  
    "You see this letter?" he asked it. "It's a very important letter. I need you to take it to a friend of mine, okay?"   
  
    The hummingbird flew out of Alfred's hand and grabbed onto the paper with both of its talons. It hovered in front of Alfred's face, awaiting further instructions. "Aw, sweet!" Alfred exclaimed, and laughed softly.   
  
    He then reached into his coat again and pulled out the sketch he had drawn of Arthur. He held it in front of the hummingbird's face and let him examine it. "Do you see this boy, little bird? His name is Arthur, and he lives in the city of Shale. That's the capital of the Hearts Kingdom! That's who I want you to bring the letter to, okay?" he instructed.  
  
    The bird gave a little nod, as if it understood his directions. Then, it flitted towards the door to the aviary and batted its wings gently against the door, as if it were telling Alfred that it wanted to be let out. Alfred stuffed his sketch back into his coat and rushed to the door of the aviary. He opened the door, and as soon as he had, the little hummingbird darted out of the aviary and into the sky.   
  
    Alfred ran out of the aviary and shut the door quickly. He turned his head up to the sky and watched the bird fly away until he could no longer see its tiny figure on the horizon. Satisfied with his work and faithful in the fact that the bird could do its job properly, Alfred walked back into the castle and began his eager yet utterly painful wait for a reply.   


 

\---

  
    It took almost a day for the hummingbird to reach its destination. It took a few hours more to find the boy that it had been searching for. When the hummingbird did at last find Arthur, he was sitting on the porch outside of the tavern that he had taken Alfred to for lunch the day they had met. Though it had only been four days since Arthur had seen or heard from Alfred, it felt like it had been an eternity.   
  
    Arthur had promised Alfred that they'd see each other again. He'd promised that he'd find a way to see him again. Who had he been trying to fool? There was no way he could see Alfred again. It wasn't like commoners were allowed inside the Castle of Spades uninvited, and certainly not punk boys from other kingdoms that the King despised with every fiber in his being.   
  
    Visiting Alfred was absolutely out of the question, and Arthur was sure that there was no way Alfred could come to visit him. After all, it had been four days. If Alfred had been allowed to come see Arthur, he would have, right? Either that, or Alfred didn't want to see him again after all that had happened... But Arthur's heart believed in the former and refused to believe otherwise.  
  
    There was really no way that they could contact each other, either. Any mail sent to the castle by commoners was probably thrown away. Either that or it had to be read and approved by the king. There was no way Arthur could send a letter to the castle. Alfred would never see it. But Arthur couldn't think of any other way to contact Alfred. He'd been thinking desperately for four days straight, but his mind always came up blank.    
  
    Arthur had all but lost hope of ever being able to see Alfred again by now. That being said, it was absolute perfect timing when the hummingbird finally saw Arthur and took a dive down to him. The hummingbird flitted in front of Arthur's face and used its talons to hold the letter out to Arthur.   
  
    Arthur gasped in shock and flinched back upon seeing the bird for the first time. It was flying right in his face and it had startled him. However, when he saw that it was trying to give him a letter, he raised an eyebrow and took the letter from it. He opened it quickly and began to read it.   
  
    By the time he had finished reading it, he wore the biggest smile he ever had on his face. Alfred had found a way to contact him! At this point, he wasn't even focused on thinking up his reply yet. He reread the letter over and over again, his smile growing bigger every time. All hope for them seeing each other again wasn't lost, after all.   
  
    Arthur didn't stop rereading the letter until he felt the hummingbird nestle itself in his hair. It seemed to be very comfortable up there, though Arthur found the feeling of a bird sitting on his head to be slightly strange. He was glad that the bird hadn't flown away. He knew that he had to write his reply quickly and send the bird back to where it came from.   
  
    He closed his fist around the letter and stood up. As quickly as he could, he dashed from the tavern porch and towards the village where he lived. He didn't stop running until he was standing in front of his house and even then, he only slowed his pace a little as he bolted inside.   
  
    He ran to his bedroom and closed the door before rushing to his bed and practically jumping onto it. Once he was on the bed, he leaned over the side of it and looked under it. He spotted the box that held his notebook and pencils in it and quickly reached for it. He grabbed it, sat up and put it down on the bed. He pulled out his notebook and his best pencil, opened the notebook, ripped a piece of paper out of it and began to write his response to Alfred.  
  
     _Alfred!_  
  
    _I'm so glad you sent this letter to me! I was starting to worry that we'd never be able to speak to each other again... But now we have this! Unfortunately, I do think that this is all we have right now. Not many people in my city have cellphones, much less the poorer commoners like myself. We do have a land line, but my mother is nosy and likes to listen in on all of my conversations. We only have one computer and it's my dad's, so he'll never let me use it. But you know... I could probably use one of the computers they have at the library to check my email! That could work, definitely! My email, by the way, is kingofrebels@kingdommessenger.com_  
 _email me as soon as you get the chance and I'll reply to it when I can! I hope it'll work..._  
  
_-Arthur_  
  
    Arthur used the rubber band from Alfred's letter and used it to tie up his own letter. He set his letter down on the bed and reached up to his head slowly, so as not to startle the bird that was resting there. He lifted the bird out of his hair gently and set it down on the bed. He then picked up the letter and held it out to the bird.   
  
    "Take this back to your master, alright? It's very urgent," he said softly.  
  
    The bird began flapping its wings and flew up off the bed. He grabbed the letter with both of his talons and Arthur let it go. Once the bird was carrying the letter, it flew towards the window on the wall closest to Arthur's bed. Arthur crawled across the bed and stood up on his knees to reach the latch of the window. He unlocked the window and opened it for the bird. The bird quickly flew out of the window and began its journey back to the Castle of Spades.   


 

\---

  
    It had been two days since Alfred had sent the hummingbird off to find Arthur. For two days, Alfred took every chance he could get to go out to the aviary and see if the bird had come back home yet. Every time he checked, he ended up disappointed. It seemed to him like the bird would never come back. Any number of things could have happened to it. Arthur would probably never get the letter, and Alfred would never get a reply.   
  
    But it had only been two days. Alfred wouldn't give up checking when it hadn't even been a week yet. There was still some part of him that believed the bird would come back. He just had to be patient.   
  
    He was going out to check the aviary again for what seemed like the thousandth time. However, when he arrived, he saw that something was different than usual. There was someone else inside the aviary today.   
  
    Alfred's eyes widened slightly and his heartbeat quickened ever so slightly. It shouldn't have been a big deal, but he was nervous. What if the bird had come back already but someone else had taken his letter and hadn't told him? What if the bird came back now and Alfred couldn't get to the bird before the person inside the aviary did? Who was even in the aviary, anyways? And did Alfred dare to find out?   
  
    After a few moments of staring at the person's figure through the clear glass walls of the aviary, Alfred decided that he did dare to step closer and find out who it was inside the aviary. He was slow, quiet and stealthy. He hid behind hedges and statues when he could. He approached the aviary without being seen. When he was close enough to see who the other person was, he discovered that it was Yao.  
  
    Yao was holding something gently in his hands. At first, Alfred couldn't see it because of the way that Yao was facing, but when he turned himself a little, Alfred could see that he was holding a hummingbird. Alfred immediately recognized it as the bird he had sent to deliver his message to Arthur.  
  
    Alfred resisted the urge to gasp as Yao removed a piece of rolled up paper from the bird's talons. Alfred had no doubt that it was Arthur's reply to his letter. He watched in painful silence as Yao unrolled the letter and began to read it.  
  
    "Oh, my, my..." he muttered under his breath as a small smile appeared on his face. "It looks like our dear Young Master has a secret friend that he wants to keep in contact with." He chuckled softly. "I knew there had to be a reason he was so interested in his lesson the other day."   
  
    He tossed the bird into the air gently and it began flying to stay in the air, but it stayed near Yao. Yao began to roll up the letter and wrap the rubber band over it again. "I'm sure that I would gain favor with the King if I brought to light what his son has been up to behind his back, don't you think, little bird?"   
  
    Alfred choked on his own saliva. This was  _not_  how things were supposed to work out. Alfred had found the one way that he could keep in contact with Arthur and he'd only sent one letter before everything began to fall apart. He had to stop Yao from telling his father. He'd do whatever it took to make Yao keep his secret.  
  
    Alfred rushed out from his hiding spot and grabbed the aviary door handle. He threw the door open and ran inside, rushing towards Yao to try to grab the letter from him. However, Yao heard him coming, and as Alfred tried to dive onto him, he stepped out of the way and watched as the Prince fell on the concrete floor of the aviary instead.  
  
    Alfred grimaced but quickly pushed himself to his feet and stared at Yao with a very mixed expression on his face. Part of him looked angry, but the other part was desperate and pleading. The smile on Yao's face grew wider.  
  
    "Give the letter to me, Yao! It's not yours, it's mine! It's none of your business!" he shouted.  
  
    "On the contrary, Young Master Jones,  _everything_  you do is my business. It's my duty to keep you in check, and make sure you're only doing things that are fit for a Prince. Sneaking behind your father's back to talk to a commoner boy from a foreign kingdom is  _not_  prince-like at all," Yao said and clucked his tongue disdainfully.   
  
    Alfred put his hands together in prayer fashion and shook them towards Yao's face. " _Please,_  Yao,  _please!_  Y-you can't tell my father about this, he'll kill me! I-I just want to have a friend to talk to, Yao! I'm all alone in this castle twenty-four-seven and I don't have anyone I can talk to! Please, Yao, I'll do anything! J-just don't tell my father! Please...!" he begged.   
  
    Yao stared at Alfred in thought. Both of them were silent for a while. An eternity seemed to pass before Yao finally decided to speak. "Fine. I will not tell your father," he said.  
  
    Alfred's eyes widened and he gasped in delight. "Oh, Yao, tha-"  
  
    "Ah-ah-ah," Yao interrupted, holding his index finger in front of Alfred's mouth. "But not for free."  
  
    Alfred pushed Yao's hand away from his mouth. "I'll do anything, Yao. Literally anything. Whatever you want, you can have. I just want to talk to Arthur..." he said.  
  
    "For starters, you have to pay attention to all of your lessons from now on. You have to be just as engaged as you were with the lesson about the birds,  _without_  an ulterior motive," Yao bargained.   
  
    Alfred nodded. "I can do that!" he agreed.  
  
    "Second, you are not to make your father angry if you can help it. No back-talking, no half-assing the things he tells you to do, no disrespect, and no disobedience other than speaking with Arthur," Yao added.  
  
    "I-I can do that too..." Alfred agreed, though reluctantly.   
  
    "As long as you do both of those things, I will keep your secret. But if I see that you are not keeping up your end of the bargain, well, I'll stop keeping up mine. Do you understand?" Yao inquired.  
  
    Alfred nodded eagerly. "Yes! Yes, I understand!" he exclaimed.   
  
    Yao studied him for a brief moment before holding the letter out to him. Alfred took it from him quickly and held it close to his chest, as if he were afraid that something else might try to take it from him at any moment. He looked up at Yao with a look of deep respect in his eyes and on his face.   
  
    "Thanks, Yao. I'm... I'm really grateful for this," he said softly.  
  
    Yao's face softened and he nodded subtly. "I know you are, Alfred." His sympathetic expression soon changed into a soft smirk. "Now get going before I change my mind about it," he said.   
  
    Alfred laughed softly and flashed Yao a smile before running out of the aviary, though the garden and back inside the castle. He waited until he was safe inside the walls of his bedroom before opening the letter and reading it. He had a smile on his face the entire time. He had been so worried that he would never hear from Arthur again, but now he had Arthur's reply, and he was just as happy as he had been the day he met Arthur.  
  
    As soon as Alfred had finished reading Arthur's letter, he rushed to his desk and sat down at it. He turned on his laptop and quickly opened his internet browser. He was going to email Arthur right now and was prepared to check his inbox every ten minutes until he received a reply from Arthur.  
  
      _Arthur!``_  
  
_It's Alfred! I'm sooo glad that you have an email! It'll be so much easier for us to talk now, even if you can only reply once in a while... But either way, I'm really grateful to have some way to talk to you. I want to see you again, though. I know it's gonna be kind of hard since we live so far away, but hey, I'm willing to work for it, ya know...?_  
  
_Anyways, if... If you wanna see me again, and if you're up for it, I've got a place and a time that we can meet each other. My father's having a party at the castle next weekend. Saturday night, to be exact. I'll sneak away during the party and just make sure I'm back by sunrise, and we should have a few hours together. There's a village on the border of Spades and Hearts. It doesn't belong to either Kingdom. We could meet there at around 9:00 PM... I mean, if you want to._  
  
_If you don't that's cool too. I totally understand. But we can still talk through email and that's good enough for me. Hope you're doing alright._  
  
_-Alfred_  
  
    When he had finished typing up the email, he read through it quickly to make sure it sounded alright. Once he decided that he was satisfied with it, he hit the send button and closed out his internet browser. He was sure that it would be a little while before he heard anything back from Arthur. Now, all he could do was sit back and hope that the response would come more quickly than he expected.   


 

\---

  
    Arthur had been disappointed yesterday when he had gone to the library to check his email and found that his inbox was empty. He'd waited at the library for an entire hour, pretending to be studying for something or reading books while occasionally going back to one of the computers to see if he had a new email yet. Unfortunately, nothing came.   
  
    Even so, he was going to try again today. Alfred was a prince, after all, and he probably had a very busy schedule. It was impossible to tell what he was doing or when he'd be able to reply to Arthur. He supposed they'd be lucky if they got to reply to each other once or twice a week. Still, he'd go to the library every single day to check and see if he had a reply.   
  
    Today, when he checked, he was delighted when he saw that he did indeed have a new message. The email address it had been sent from was misterhellafail1776@kingdommessenger.com. It definitely didn't sound like the username of someone of royal status, but then again, Arthur would probably never know what kind of usernames royalty used. Besides, it was definitely a high possibility that this was a secret email account that Alfred was keeping from his father, if it even was Alfred. There was only one way to find out.   
  
    He quickly clicked on the email to open it and started to read it. When he saw Alfred's name in the first line, he grinned broadly and a wave of relief swept over him. Alfred had gotten his reply to the letter and planned on emailing him from now on. As he continued to read through the email, his smile grew even wider. So there was a plan to see each other again, now? Excellent. Arthur would be there, no matter what.  
  
    After Arthur finished reading the email, he wasted no time in beginning to type out his reply.   
  
      _Arthur`,`_  
  
_I'm so glad that you got my letter! I was afraid that it would get lost or something! But it's much harder for emails to get lost so we shouldn't have to worry about that. Anyways, the answer is yes without a doubt, Alfred. I do want to meet up with you again. I know that village, too. I can get there, definitely. This weekend works perfectly. I'll be there for sure. I can't wait to see you again!_  
  
_-Arthur_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow okay okay I had so much trouble uploading this chapter thank god it's finally up now-  
> Anyways, not much happened in this chapter, except for the finding ways of keeping in contact, setting up a date and developing a slight bond between Alfred and Yao, which will be important later~ Hope you guys are enjoying so far <3


	3. Playing Hooky

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There are only three days left until Alfred and Arthur's planned second meeting, but with the day getting closer, Alfred suddenly realizes that to meet Arthur without his father's permission would be breaking the deal that he had made with Yao. Alfred must find a way to convince Yao to help him keep his tracks covered.

_“A secret's worth depends on the people from whom it must be kept.”_  
_-Carlos Ruiz Zafón,_ **_The Shadow of the Wind_ **  


 

\---

 

    Alfred had been ecstatic when he had read Arthur's reply to his email. Arthur had agreed to meeting him! They were going to see each other again in just over a week! And of course they could still email each other every day until then. But God, it was going to be so fantastic to see him again. To be able to hear his voice and see those sparkling emerald eyes instead of just imagining them. Every hour he had to wait would be agonizing, but it would be worth it.

 

    When he thought about it, Alfred wasn't even sure why he really wanted to see Arthur so much, or why he got so happy when he got a reply to an email. They had only met once and had only spent a few hours together. Though... It had been a magical experience, and for the first time since his mother's death, Alfred had actually been happy again. Arthur had made him smile. Arthur was his friend. His only friend, at that.

 

    Arthur had prevented Alfred's suicide, as well. Arthur was, to put it simply, Alfred's hero. But deep down, Alfred knew that "hero" wasn't the right word for it. It was more than that, somehow, though Alfred couldn't place his finger on just exactly what it was. 

 

    That had to be the reason why Alfred wanted to see him again so badly. The truth was, Arthur had made him feel safe. Arthur made him feel like he was wanted. Arthur hadn't judged him for anything during the entire time they were together. Arthur had forgiven him so easily, even after he had almost gotten Arthur killed. The only other person that Alfred ever had like that was his mother. Everyone else around him seemed to hate him and always made him feel like he wasn't good enough, and that he never would be. 

 

    Now that Alfred finally had someone who accepted him, who enjoyed his company and who seemed to care about him, it was driving him out of his mind that he could only spend such little time with that person. It seemed that the only moments of sanity he had were the moments when he would reply to Arthur's emails, which was why he tried to make those moments as long as possible. He'd reread Arthur's reply a thousand times, then spend half an hour trying to write an extremely thought out reply to Arthur, only to delete it all and try again three times, and finally, he would reread his own reply a thousand times before sending it. After that, he'd be anxious and upset again until Arthur emailed him back. If he didn't get to see Arthur in person soon, he was sure he would go insane. 

 

    It didn't dawn on Alfred until three days before he was supposed to meet Arthur that his plan had one very fatal flaw in it: to sneak away from the castle would be disobeying his father, and if Yao caught him doing it, Yao would tell everything to Alfred's father. Alfred was sure that Yao would find out somehow, too. Yao was the smartest and cleverest man that Alfred knew. There was no way Alfred could keep this from him.

 

    On top of that, Alfred wasn't even sure if he could pull it off even if Yao didn't find out. If Yao didn't find out, someone else would, and that someone would probably be his father. His father would beat him black and blue if he found out that Alfred had been talking to Arthur behind his back, but Alfred was afraid to think of what his father would do if he caught Alfred sneaking off to meet Arthur in the middle of the night. At that point, Alfred would be  _lucky_  if his father killed him. 

 

    He had originally planned on faking illness to get out of going to the party his father was hosting, but knowing Alfred's father, the King would have someone checking on Alfred every twenty minutes to make sure he really was sick and not just faking it. If any of the servants saw that he wasn't in his room, it would cause a panic throughout the entire castle and probably the entire kingdom. The only way Alfred could make this work is if he had someone on his side that could cover for him, but he couldn't trust anyone... Or could he? 

 

    If Alfred wanted even the  _slightest_  chance of this working, he was going to have to take a chance on trusting someone. Someone who his father trusted  _a lot._  Someone who was clever and could make anything work the way they needed it to. Someone who, if Alfred played his cards right, could be his strongest ally in situations like this for as long as he was keeping his friendship with Arthur a secret. Someone who already knew Alfred's secret. Someone like... Yao. 

 

    He would have to tell Yao about the meeting. He had convinced Yao to keep his secret once, and he could do it again, right? Alfred had been doing everything that Yao had asked of him... He was the most well behaved boy that Yao or the King could have ever asked for. Alfred could make another deal with Yao. Yao would help him, right? 

 

    It was currently 2:34 PM on Thursday, three days before Alfred was supposed to meet with Arthur. Alfred and Yao were in the garden again. They usually did their lessons there. Yao had just finished a particularly boring lecture on politics that Alfred honestly couldn't remember half of, but he had tried so hard to stay focused on it, just to make Yao happy. As Yao was closing his book, and Alfred saw the peaceful look on his instructor's face, he decided that now would be the best time to ask him. 

 

    "U-um... Yao..." he said softly, standing up from the chair he was sitting in and approaching the Jack slowly. 

 

    Yao looked up from the book after he had closed it and stared at Alfred. "Yes, Young Master?" he inquired. 

 

    "I-I... U-um... I've got something to ask you... A-and it's really important..." Alfred replied, twiddling his thumbs.

 

    Yao raised an eyebrow. "Well, go on then," he urged. 

 

    Alfred took a deep breath and ran a hand through his hair. "Y-Yao... I need you to keep another secret for me. I-I know I'm asking a lot but this is so,  _so_  important to me, i-it's driving me crazy and if you can't help me, I-I don't know what I'm going to do. I-I'll make another deal with you, I'll do anything you want me to, but I just need someone to help me and you're the only person I can trust," he said quickly.

 

    Yao was a bit taken aback at the last statement. He had always thought that Alfred despised him just as much as Alfred despised the King, and if that wasn't the case, the Prince certainly didn't trust him. Alfred never trusted anyone. He didn't even talk to anyone if he could help it. He was a very lonely child. Yao may have been a strict teacher and loyal to the King, but he by no means hated the Prince. In fact, he harbored a secret fondness of the boy, though he would never tell Alfred or the King.

 

    "Well, spit it out, Young Master. I haven't got all day, you know," he said. 

 

    Alfred took another deep breath. "Y-Yao... Yao, I'm planning to meet up with Arthur."

 

    Yao frowned slightly. "Alfred, you do realize that is in violation of our previous deal, don't you?" he asked. "You were told not to disobey your father. Sneaking out to meet up with your friend would be disobeying him. He does not wish for you to see Arthur."

 

    "I-I know! I know! I-I just... Yao, I really have to see him again. I  _have_  to! A-Arthur and I already set everything up... I-I know I should have asked you first but I was just so excited and- Yao,  _please,_  You have to help me..." he begged. 

 

    Yao sighed softly. In all honesty, he didn't understand why the King wouldn't let Alfred see Arthur. Arthur was his only friend, and Yao could see that Arthur was the only person that made Alfred happy. It would be cruel of him to keep Alfred from meeting up with Arthur again, especially when he seemed so desperate. He couldn't deny the Prince his one source of happiness.

 

    "Alright... Alright. I'll help you. But if I help you, you're going to have to take on a few more hours of lesson time each day, understand?" he said.

 

    Alfred's eyes lit up like stars in the night sky. "Deal! Deal, I'll take any lessons you want me to! J-just hear out my plan, okay...?" he asked.

 

    Yao nodded. "Tell me your plan," he said. 

 

    Alfred smiled broadly. "Okay, okay! Okay, so, I'm planning on meeting up with him when Father is having his party this weekend... I figured, I could fake being sick, ya know? That way I wouldn't have to be at the party. But I know Father will send someone in to check on me every once in a while during the party, which is where you come in. H-he trusts you, s-so if you offer to take care of me, he'll believe whatever you say... You can go up to my room when he asks you to and you can tell him that everything's fine, but I won't really be there. I'll be back before sunrise, okay...? All you have to do is just make sure that my Father doesn't find out that I'm not in my room," he explained.

 

    Yao pursed his lips for a moment before responding. "I suppose it's as good a plan as any... It should be pretty simple to pull off..." he mused.

 

    "So you'll do it?" Alfred asked.

 

    Yao nodded. "I'll do it." 

 

\---

 

    Alfred's extra lessons started right away, but he didn't mind. It wasn't like he had anything better to do everyday, anyways. The extra lesson time seemed to keep Alfred occupied rather than bore him and made the days go by more quickly. Soon enough, it was Saturday, and Alfred and Yao were ready to put their plan into action.

 

    Everyone in the castle was busy with preparations for the party. The castle doors would open at six o'clock that night. Every servant was bustling about, putting up decorations, making sure all the food was prepared and making sure the castle looked its absolute best. Alfred was left to his own devices for most of the day. It wasn't until an hour before the party was supposed to start that his father came to tell him to get changed and give his usual lecture about how he should behave during the party. By the time his father did come to see him, he was already playing the part.

 

    When his father came into his room, he saw that Alfred was lying in bed with the blankets pulled tightly around him. His eyes were closed, but the King could see that they were red and puffy, and the rest of his face was red, too. He was tossing and turning every few seconds, seemingly unable to find a comfortable spot, and moaning in discomfort because of that fact. 

 

    The King pursed his lips and stepped further into the room. He walked towards his son's bed and grabbed onto the blankets, ripping them away from Alfred and tossing them to the foot of the bed. Alfred whined and immediately curled up, pulling his knees to his chest and wrapping his arms around himself to keep himself warm. 

 

    "Alfred! What on Earth is wrong with you?" the King demanded as he stared at the pathetic, whimpering form of his son.

 

    "'M sick, Father..." Alfred mumbled.

 

    "Sick? What kind of sick? How can you tell?" The King asked.

 

    Alfred shrugged weakly. "Y-Yao said I've a fever... M'head hurts... Don't wanna get up..." he murmured.

 

    The King growled softly from the back of his throat, frustrated. "Fantastic. That's just fantastic. My son gets sick on the day of the biggest event we've held all year. What's it going to say about us if the Prince doesn't attend the royal events?" he grumbled.

 

    "Sorry, Father..." Alfred mumbled.

 

    "Whatever, whatever, just- Where the hell is Yao, anyways?" 

 

    As soon as the King had said those words, Yao appeared in the doorway. "Yes, Your Majesty?" 

 

    The King turned to look at Yao. "What's up with my son? What's the matter with him?" he demanded.

 

    "Well, to put it quite simply, Your Highness, the boy is sick," Yao answered.

 

    "I know that much!" the King shouted. "But what is he sick  _with??_ "

 

    "I'm not quite certain yet, Your Highness. It could be the flu, it could be worse, or it could be nothing really at all. But I don't think it's a good idea to let him come to the party tonight. He needs to rest until it passes," Yao informed. 

 

    The King growled softly again. "Fine. Alfred, stay in bed. You're not to get up until you're rested, understand?" he asked.

 

    Alfred nodded. "Mm-hm..." 

 

    The King looked at Yao. "Yao, you're in charge of making sure he stays in bed. I want you to check on him frequently and tell me how he is. Do whatever you can to help him recover as quickly as possible," he ordered.

 

    Yao nodded. "Understood, Your Majesty."

 

    "Good. Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got to get ready for that party..." The King left the room without another word.

 

    Yao walked to the doorway and watched the King walk down the hall. Once the King was out of sight, Yao shut Alfred's bedroom door and looked at the Prince. "We're clear," he said. 

 

    Immediately, Alfred's pained expression turned into a broad smile. He sat bolt upright and jumped out of bed. "Sweet!" he exclaimed "I can't believe our plan's actually working!" He laughed softly.

 

    Yao rolled his eyes. "Of course it's working, Young Master. You actually made a smart plan for once. Looks like you finally decided to pull your head out of your ass," he said.

 

    "I'd do anything to see Arthur again," Alfred reminded him.

 

    "If only you'd have this much passion for your lessons..." Yao murmured.

 

    Alfred rushed to his wardrobe and opened it quickly. He began digging through his clothes, trying to find something casual to wear. Getting dressed up would take too long and would be hard to move around in. Besides, he wanted to fit in with the villagers, at least as well as he was able to. 

 

    Fortunately, it didn't take him long to decide what to wear. He pulled the outfit out of his wardrobe, closed it, and tossed the clothes onto his bed. He stripped down to his underwear, not even caring that Yao was in the room, and quickly dressed himself in the clothes he had picked out. Black dress pants and a white dress shirt with ruffles on the ends of the sleeves.

 

    "I gotta leave right now if I'm gonna get there on time. It's gonna be a long walk..." Alfred mumbled. Yao scoffed lightly.

 

    Alfred raised an eyebrow and looked at him. "What was that for?" he asked. 

 

    "There's no way I'm going to let you walk all the way there and all the way back, Young Master," Yao replied. 

 

    "Well how else am I supposed to get there? It's not like I can drive and it's too risky to get my bike or a horse or something," Alfred pointed out.

 

    "I'm letting you borrow my horse," Yao said. "I conveniently arranged for my cousin to borrow my horse today. He was taken out earlier today and won't be returned until tomorrow. Of course, I only had my cousin borrow my horse so that he could give it to you," he explained, and smirked slightly.

 

    Alfred's eyes widened. "Oh my God, are you serious, Yao? You're really letting me borrow Moshu?" he asked incredulously.

 

    Yao nodded. "Riding a horse is a lot safer than walking, and much quicker, too," he said.

 

    Alfred's smile broadened and he jumped up and down a few times. He resisted the urge to hug Yao, but it was hard to do with how excited he was. "Oh, thank you, Yao! Thank you so much!" he squealed.

 

    Yao smiled softly. "I told you I'd help you, didn't I?" 

 

    "How do I find him, though? I mean, where is your cousin, anyways?" Alfred asked. 

 

    "Do you know that tavern in the village of Safirheim?" Yao asked.

 

    "Duh, everyone knows the Safirheim Tavern! It's only the most popular tavern in the Spades Kingdom!" Alfred answered.

 

    "My cousin will be waiting there. Don't worry, he'll know who you are. He looks a lot like a younger version of me, and he has an elaborate tattoo of a dragon on his left arm. He answers to the name of Li Xiao," Yao informed. 

 

    Alfred smiled softly. "Thanks, Yao. I really appreciate this. I'll take really good care of your horse. I promise," he said.

 

    "I'm sure you will. Now hurry and get going before I change my mind!" he teased. 

 

    Alfred flashed Yao one last smile before rushing to his window and opening it. Alfred's bedroom was on one of the higher floors of the castle, so it was no easy task to sneak out of it. However, in the past six years, he had made a lot of escape attempts and had become a master at sliding from the higher roof panels to the lower ones and using the ivy that grew up the walls in some places to help him get down. It took him quite a few minutes to get all the way down to the ground, but he made it eventually.

 

    After he had finished climbing out of the castle, he took off at a run to get to the city of Safirheim as quickly as possible. Of course, there was a large gate that protected the castle, and it wouldn't be open for at least half an hour, but scaling it was not a problem for Alfred. He was easily able to climb up the gate using its metal bars, and climbing back down on the other side was even easier. 

 

    He was now successfully outside of the castle grounds. All that was left to do was run down the path that led to the city. The castle had been built on top of a very large hill that overlooked the capital city. Some even said it was a mountain. Fortunately, the path was not steep and it was carved in circles around the hill, and it took a lot less time than Alfred had expected for him to finally reach the city. 

 

    It was dark out by the time he had reached the tavern. The stars were beginning appear in the night sky. It was a clear night and there were no clouds to be seen. The bright moonlight made it easier to see in the dark, but even so, Alfred began to wish that he had brought a flashlight or a lantern to help him see. 

 

    It turned out that Alfred didn't even have to go into the tavern to find the man he was looking for. A young man who bore a heavy resemblance to the Jack of Spades, albeit with much shorter hair, was standing next to a horse outside of the tavern. Alfred glanced at the man's left arm and immediately spotted the long red dragon that had been tattooed onto it. He looked at the horse and immediately recognized it as Moshu. 

 

    Alfred walked up to the man and cleared his throat softly. The man quickly turned his head to look at Alfred and gave him a once-over before approaching him slowly, pulling on Moshu's reigns gently to get the horse to follow. Alfred watched them for a moment before speaking. "A-Are you Li Xiao...?" he asked softly.

 

    "Yeah, that's me. And I'm assuming you're, uh, the Prince of Spades, right?" the man inquired. 

 

    Alfred nodded. "I am," he answered.

 

    "Well, in that case, you can just call me Leon, mmk?" the man said. "My cousin Yao told me you'd be coming around. He told me like,  _all_ about your situation, so I've totally got you covered. I'll be hanging around here tonight so just bring him back like, whenever. And have fun with your friend, mmk?" 

 

    Leon handed Moshu's reigns over to Alfred, who took them eagerly and smiled at Leon. "Thanks a lot, Leon," he said.

 

    "Yeah, it's no problem," Leon replied. 

 

    Alfred quickly mounted the horse and looked down at Leon. Leon flashed him a small smile and waved to him. Alfred smiled and waved back before taking the reigns in his hands again and urging Moshu into a gallop. He began his ride to the village of Burlone, where he was to meet Arthur in only three hours.

 

\---

 

    There were three hours left until Arthur was supposed to meet up with Alfred. Three hours until he could see his best friend again. The wait was almost unbearable. Arthur wanted to get out of the house as quickly as possible. 

 

    Unfortunately, unlike Alfred, Arthur couldn't sneak out of his house. His mother, his father and his sister were all still awake and would be for a long while. They'd  _definitely_  notice if he had gone missing. However, Arthur definitely had a lot more freedom than Alfred did, and he'd devised a clever lie to convince his parents to let him go out for the night. 

 

    Arthur had told them that he and some of his friends were riding to the next city over to catch a concert last minute. It taken a lot of pleading and an even larger amount of extra house cleaning and errand running to convince them to let him go, but he had won them over eventually. 

 

    It was six o'clock. Arthur would have to leave right now if he wanted to be able to make it to Burlone by the time he was supposed to meet Alfred, and he didn't want to keep the Prince waiting. He said quick goodbyes to his family, promising them he'd be back sometime tomorrow morning. They expressed how they'd miss him, how they hoped he'd have fun and told him to be safe. He promised he would and left the house. 

 

    His method of transportation would be none other than his dual-sport motorcycle. The body's main color was black, while long and large emerald-green pythons were painted onto either side. It was built for street riding as well as offroading and would get Arthur to his destination in what would feel like no time. 

 

    Arthur loved his bike. He loved to ride. He loved the feeling of freedom that riding gave him as he raced through the streets of the city or over the rock-strewn hills outside of the village. He hadn't used his bike in a while; he'd been busy with other things, but having a secret rendezvous with Alfred was just the excuse he needed to pull it out again.

 

    The grin on his face was wider than it had been in a long time as he opened the door to the garage and saw his bike standing on the other side of it. He couldn't wait to get going on it again. He quickly ran to the shelf where he kept his motorcycle helmet and picked it up. He placed over his head as he walked to his motorcycle and mounted it. He put the kickstand up, gripped both of the handlebars tightly and started the bike up. The hum of the engine and the vibrations it sent through the bike and through his body only caused his smile to grow. 

 

    He wasted no time in kicking off the ground and racing out of the garage at full speed, heading away from his home and the village where it rested. Soon the village and the city itself disappeared, and Arthur focused on nothing but the road ahead of him, which would lead him to Burlone and the meeting he'd been so desperately waiting for. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another uneventful chapter, but I still managed to make it just over 4000 words. Pretty impressive if I do say so myself. Although the word count in the last few chapters has been decreasing by a thousand... But I'm sure I'll be able to bring the count back up to 6000 with the next chapter. I can assure you that it is going to be very exciting.  
> Also, if you look hard enough, there's a bit of foreshadowing in this chapter...~ It's pretty hard to find, so I'll give you a hint  
> There's an important name in this chapter that is from another language, and it's meaning in English holds a lot of value for the next chapter.


	4. Burlone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alfred and Arthur finally meet each other again in the village of Burlone; a quiet and uninhabited village on the border of Spades and Hearts. At first glance, it seems like your regular, run of the mill ghost town, but Alfred and Arthur quickly discover there is more to this village than meets the eye.

_“Bravery is the capacity to perform properly even when scared half to death.”_

_-Omar Bradley_

_\---_

  
    Alfred arrived in Burlone a lot earlier than he had expected to, but it didn't surprise him. After all, he had originally planned on going on foot. Being able to ride Yao's horse had cut the travel time almost in half. It was only around 8:00 PM when Alfred arrived in the village. That meant he'd probably have to wait for around an hour before Arthur got there.   
  
    Fortunately, Arthur got to the village ahead of time, also. He was so excited that he couldn't stand waiting around and ended up leaving earlier than he had originally intended to. He arrived not long after Alfred. It was around 8:20 or 8:30 when Arthur parked his bike outside the first building he saw upon entering the deserted village.   
  
    Alfred had ridden Moshu a bit deeper into the village. He looked around for a stable that he could put Moshu in until the time came to ride back to the Safirheim Tavern. Eventually, he came across what looked like a tavern and saw that there was a stable behind it. He dismounted Moshu and brought the horse to one of the stables and shut him inside.   
  
    Alfred hadn't specified a building or a spot for Arthur to meet him at. He had only specified the village. Arthur had planned on waiting at the building where he had parked his bike until he saw Alfred enter the village, thinking that the other hadn't arrived yet. However, while he was looking around, his gaze fell to the ground and he noticed the hoof prints in the dirt that lead deeper into the village.  
  
    Arthur could see that the prints were pretty fresh, which meant one of two things. Either Alfred had ridden to the village on a horse and was waiting for Arthur deeper inside the village, or someone else had come to the deserted village of Burlone on the exact night that Arthur and Alfred had planned to meet. Either way, Arthur wanted to know who was in the village, so he began to follow the prints.  
  
    Alfred had been on his way back to the front of the village from the stables. He was halfway there when he saw someone walking towards him. Even though the boy was looking at the ground, Alfred recognized him instantly. There was no mistaking the shaggy blond hair and the punk clothing. It was Arthur, without a doubt.  
  
    Alfred's eyes lit up like the stars that were hanging in the sky above the village. He smiled broadly and picked up his pace, quickly going from a walk to a run. "Arthur! Arthur!!" he shouted excitedly, trying to get the boy's attention.   
  
    Arthur's head shot up when he heard Alfred's voice. His eyes fell on the other boy almost instantly, and when he saw Alfred running towards him, he smiled just as broadly as the other was and burst into a run as well. "Alfred!!" he shouted back.   
  
    It was only a few seconds before the two boys collided into each other, just barely being able to stay on their feet as their arms wrapped around each other in a tight and warm embrace. Alfred laughed exuberantly, which caused Arthur to start laughing, as well. They stayed together like that for a few minutes before they finally pulled away from each other and took a good look at each other.   
  
    "I'm so glad I got to see you again, Arthur..." Alfred said softly, staring up at him.  
  
    Arthur smiled faintly at him. "Yeah, I'm happy to see you too, Alfred. It feels like it's been ages since the last time we were together," he said.  
  
    Alfred nodded. "I know what you mean. I mean, it's basically  _torture_  being cooped up in the castle all day everyday. I thought I'd die of boredom before I got to see you again," he exclaimed.   
  
    Arthur pursed his lips. "So, your father really doesn't let you out of the castle  _ever?_ " he asked, his tone sounding slightly disbelieving.   
  
    Alfred shook his head. "Not unless it's for something really important. I'm never allowed to go out of the castle by myself and I'm not allowed to do anything fun while I'm outside. The day that I met you was the first time I'd ever been outside of the Spades Castle by myself..." he admitted.   
  
    "How did you get outside the castle tonight, then? I mean, if it's that easy for you to run away, why haven't you done it before?" Arthur asked.   
  
    Alfred resisted the urge to scoff. "Oh, believe me, I've tried before," he said. "This is the only time it's ever worked."  
  
    Arthur raised an eyebrow. "Oh...?"   
  
    "I used to try to run away all the time when I was younger, but someone would always catch me before I got outside the gates. My Father would punish me if I tried to run away and eventually, I got so scared of it that I stopped trying..." Alfred explained.  
  
    Arthur opened his mouth, about to ask what kind of punishments the King of Spades gave to his son.  Alfred seemed to despise his father with a passion, but Arthur couldn't blame him. After all, his father was strict and, from what Arthur had seen, very harsh. The things Alfred said about his father made the King of Spades seem abusive, but for some reason, Arthur just couldn't see him that way. Maybe Alfred just felt that way. But it was none of Arthur's business, and he kept his mouth shut about it.  
  
    "What made this time any different from the last times you've tried to run away?" he asked instead.   
  
    "I had help this time," Alfred answered. "Yao... The Jack... Well, he kind of found out that I was writing secret letters to you behind my father's back. He promised to keep them a secret if I promised to be more diligent with my lessons and stop being so rebellious against my father. When I told him I wanted to meet you, he covered for me so my father wouldn't find out..."   
  
    Arthur smiled softly. "Well, make sure to give Yao my thanks when you get back. I've missed you a lot since we last saw each other," he said.  
  
    Alfred smiled back at him. "Oh, I will! Yao's the best for helping me see you! I thought I was gonna die before I saw you again! I've really missed you, too..." he said.  
  
    "Well, we have some time together now. In fact, we have all night together. So let's do what we can with the time we have, and we'll find a way to see each other again later," Arthur promised.  
  
    Alfred nodded eagerly. "Yeah!" He closed his hand around Arthur's wrist and pulled on it gently. "C'mon, let's go explore the village!" he exclaimed, and began pulling Arthur along deeper into the village.   
  
    The two boys walked through the ghost town together. All of the buildings were run down and probably falling apart on the inside. The paint was all but gone. The wood was rotting. There was dust and dirt everywhere. It was dead silent except for the sound of Alfred and Arthur's footsteps upon the cobblestone street that ran through the village. It looked like no one had lived here for a century at least. It was a bit spooky, to be honest, but somehow it felt almost magical.   
  
    "I wonder how long it's been since anyone lived here..." Arthur muttered softly as his eyes darted from one dilapidated building to the next, taking everything in.   
  
    "Yao was the person who told me about this place... It was during one of our lessons. He said no one's lived here for fifty years, but it looks like it's been longer than that..." Alfred said.  
  
    Arthur looked at him, curious to know more about the village they were walking through and wondering if Alfred knew anything else. "It looks like it must have been beautiful, once. I wonder why everyone just up and left it to whither away like this..." he said.  
  
    "Yao said it was because there's something dangerous hidden here," Alfred said nonchalantly.  
  
    Arthur raised an eyebrow. "Dangerous...?" he asked.  
  
    Alfred nodded. "Yeah. And I mean, it's just an urban legend. Nobody  _really_  knows why everyone left. But Yao said it was because the people of the village found something strange and mysterious in the town... Something very powerful and dangerous. And for a while, they just left it alone and everything was fine and they kept living here... But one day, whatever it was went haywire and killed a bunch of people, and after that, everyone else packed up and left and never looked back. The town went to waste, and no one's tried to live here again since..." he explained.  
  
    "How peculiar..." Arthur said, furrowing his brows slightly.   
  
    Alfred looked at Arthur and grinned broadly. "Hey, you know what would be really fun?" he asked, his tone sounding slightly mischievous. The look in his eyes appeared mischievous, as well.   
  
    Arthur raised an eyebrow. "Hm? What would be fun?" he inquired.   
  
    "If we went looking for whatever it was that made everyone run away," Alfred answered, and his expression turned from mischievous to pleading in an instant.   
  
    Arthur's eyes widened slightly. "G-go looking for it?" he asked, his voice almost sounding alarmed. "Alfred, whatever that thing was, it ended up killing a bunch of people here and making the others so scared they just up and left and never looked back. I-I'm not so sure that hunting it down is the smartest thing to do. What if it hurts us?"   
  
    Alfred rolled his eyes. "Aw, come on, Arthur! Don't be a fuddy-duddy! We came here to have fun together, didn't we?" he asked.  
  
    "Well, yes, but getting ourselves killed isn't exactly my idea of fun," Arthur said.  
  
    "It's just an urban legend, Arthur! There's nothing dangerous here! We're just pretending!" Alfred urged.   
  
    "Alfred, I really don't think it's a good idea..." Arthur mumbled.   
  
    Alfred's expression changed once again, quickly going from pleading and hopeful to depressed and dejected. He wore the biggest frown Arthur had ever seen on anyone in his life and his eyes were big and watery. He looked like a kicked puppy, and he stared Arthur dead in the eye with that pathetically pained expression on his face.  
  
    "Please, Arthur...? I-I never get to do anything fun... This has been my first time outside on my own since I met you, and only the _second time in my entire life_  that I've been outside by myself... I-I just wanna do some exploring with you... Please...?" he begged.   
  
    Arthur bit his lip and blushed softly. He couldn't help but notice that as well as looking terribly sad, Alfred also looked terribly cute with that expression on his face. Arthur felt guilty listening to his words. Who was he to take away the fun of a Prince who lived under the care of such a strict father?   
  
    Besides, it really was just an urban legend. There was no harm in looking around, really. It's not like they would get in any trouble. There was nothing wrong with what they were doing, aside from having lied to their parents to come meet each other here. But they wouldn't get caught. Besides, Arthur prided himself on being a punk, and punks didn't care about danger or getting in trouble, right?   
  
    "Alright, alright, fine. We can go look for this 'dangerous thing' that drove everyone away," he agreed finally, crossing his arms and glaring slightly.   
  
    Alfred laughed softly. "Thank you, Arthur, thank you!" he exclaimed.  
  
    Arthur rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. Come on, where should we check first?" he asked.  
  
    "Well, if you were a super dangerous thing with untold powers, where would you keep yourself?" Alfred asked, beginning to rub his chin in thought.   
  
    Arthur raised an eyebrow. "What kind of question is that?"   
  
    Alfred shrugged. "I dunno. But come on. Let's just... Check the obvious places first. And by obvious, I mean so inconspicuous that you would never think of them, which is what makes them obvious!" he exclaimed.  
  
    "Um... Okay... So... Maybe we can check the houses first? I mean, that seems inconspicuous enough... For hiding a super dangerous thing, anyways," Arthur suggested.   
  
    Alfred beamed at him. "Great idea! Come on, let's go!"   
  
    Alfred grabbed Arthur's wrist again and led him towards the houses in the village. Compared to the villages inside the cities of Safirheim or Shale, the village of Burlone was rather small. However, there were still many houses in the village. They were all small, only one story with just a few rooms in them, but that would by no means make checking all of them an easy task.   
  
    "How are we going to check all of these tonight...?" Arthur asked as he and Alfred entered the village and began walking to the very first house.  
  
    Alfred shrugged. "We don't have to check  _all_  of them. I mean, I'm sure we can always come back and meet here again some other time... If we don't find anything tonight, then we will the next time we meet!" he exclaimed.  
  
    Arthur smiled softly. "Yeah, I guess you're right," he said. "So, we're just going to check all of the houses in order, then...?" he asked.  
  
    Alfred nodded. "Yep! We'll check every nook and cranny in every house we can!"   
  
    Arthur took a deep breath and smiled a little more. "Well, we've certainly got a lot of work to do... Let's get started, shall we?"   
  
    Alfred reached for the doorknob on the door of the first house they planned to check. He grabbed it, turned it and pushed the door open swiftly. He and Arthur stepped inside the house gingerly. It was dark inside. So dark that even the light of the stars and the moon from outside couldn't help them see. The wood floors creaked loudly as Alfred and Arthur stepped on them. It was terrifying. Even just stepping into the house sent chills down their spines.  
  
    Alfred sighed softly. "I really wish I'd brought a flashlight or something..." he muttered.   
  
    "Oh, I've got one!" Arthur exclaimed, and immediately reached into the pocket of his jacket. He pulled a small flashlight out of it and turned it on. A narrow beam of bright light shone from it and pierced the darkness in front of them. It wasn't much to see by, but it would do for now.   
  
    Alfred grinned broadly. "Sweet!" he exclaimed.  
  
    Arthur smirked slightly at him. "A good adventurer must always be prepared," he said.  
  
    Alfred laughed softly. "Yeah, I'll remember that next time! Now come on, let's go explore!"   
  
    Alfred and Arthur pressed on further into the house to begin their exploration, and immediately found something that they weren't expecting. The house was definitely not as empty as they had thought it would be. In fact, it looked as though nothing had been removed from the house at all. There were still couches and chairs in the living room, as well as a coffee table and some dead potted trees. In the kitchen, the table and chairs were still there, and in the cabinets, there were still dishes and food that had gone bad long ago. It smelled terrible. In all of the other rooms of the house, everything was still perfectly in place.   
  
    "It's like they didn't even take anything with them when they left..." Alfred murmured as he and Arthur explored the house, looking for trap doors or any other kind of hidden entrance, or clues to where they might find one.  
  
    "Maybe no one lived here. Maybe it was a model home, or something," Arthur suggested.  
  
    However, when they had finished checking that house and left to search another one, they found that it was the same. All the furniture was still there. They had searched five houses that night and all of them were still fully furnished. There were even dishes in the sink and clothes on the floor in some of them. "It's like they all just disappeared in the middle of their daily lives..." Alfred said as he and Arthur left the house they had just finished checking. "Or like they ran away without touching anything. Like they were in such a hurry that they couldn't take anything with them."  
  
    "It's terribly creepy, if you ask me. I almost feel like there's people still living here. Like they're... Ghosts, or something," Arthur said. "It's so strange... I wish that we could know what really happened to this place..."  
  
    "Well, maybe if we keep looking, we'll find an answer," Alfred told him. He pointed to the house across from them. "Come on, let's check that one next."  
  
    When Arthur nodded, Alfred dashed ahead of him, wanting to get to the front door and open it for him. Arthur watched him and followed slowly behind. At least, until he heard a rather loud  _snap_  and saw Alfred disappear once he had stepped foot on the porch. Alfred let out a terrified shriek, then there was a crash, and everything went deadly silent.   
  
    Arthur's eyes widened in terror and he raced towards the porch, unsure of what had happened and horribly afraid to think of what could have possibly happened to Alfred. "A-Alfred! Where are you!? What's happened!?" he shouted desperately.  
  
    He bounded up the few short steps that led to the porch, and stopped running just quickly enough to keep himself from falling into a rather large hole that had been recently made on the porch. Arthur was guessing that was where Alfred had disappeared to. He knelt to the ground and leaned his head over the hole before shouting into it, praying to the Elder Aces that Alfred was alright and would answer him.  
  
    "Alfred, are you down there!? Are you alright!? Can you hear me!?"   
  
    The few seconds that Arthur had to wait before he had an answer were agony. He could feel his heart pounding so fast that he thought it would burst out of his chest. His breathing was quick and shallow. All else was still and silent, until finally...  
  
    "Y-yeah! I-I'm alright! I'm fine! J-just a little shaken up..."   
  
    Arthur breathed a loud sigh of relief as he heard Alfred's voice float up from inside the hole. He smiled faintly and looked to the sky with a grateful expression on his face before looking back into the hole again. He grabbed his flashlight out of his pocket and shined it down into the hole. Alfred shielded his eyes, as the light was shining right in them. Arthur sighed in relief again once he was able to see Alfred. However, he frowned when he realized how deep the hole was.  
  
    "There's no way I can pull you out of there on my own... We can't reach each other. You're too far down," Arthur told him, pursing his lips tightly.  
  
    Alfred looked up at him but didn't stand up. His body was a bit numb from the fall and he didn't want to try to stand up yet. Upon hearing Arthur's words, he began to feel more frightened than he already was. It was bad enough that he had fallen probably a good two stories into a dark hole with no way to get out on his own and no one inside the hole with him, but now Arthur was telling him that he wasn't able to get Alfred out?   
  
    He wouldn't have minded it so much except for the fact that there was literally no one Arthur could go to for help. If  _anyone_  knew what they had been up to that night, there was no telling what would happen to either of them. If Arthur couldn't go to anyone for help, then Alfred would be stuck in the hole forever. If Arthur  _did_  go for help, Alfred's father would kill him, and probably Arthur, too. The weight of the situation seemed to situate itself on Alfred's chest and made it hard for him to breathe. Arthur could hear that he was on the verge of hyperventilating.   
  
    "H-hey, hey! Alfred, it's okay, it's okay! I-I'm going to get you out of there, I promise! Just... Just wait here, okay? Don't try to get out of there on your own. I'll go search the town and find some rope or something, okay? It's going to be alright. Just calm down, okay?" Arthur said desperately.   
  
    Alfred tried his best to slow his breathing to a normal pace again. He nodded slowly while looking up at Arthur with a very dependent look in his eyes. He was counting on Arthur. He trusted Arthur, quite possibly with his life. Arthur knew that if he didn't pull through, not only would he be endangering the life of the Prince of Spades, but he would lose the closest friend that he had right now.   
  
    "H-hurry, Arthur... I don't like it down here..." Alfred urged.   
  
    "Alright. Alright, I'm going now. I'll be back as soon as I can," Arthur promised. However, when he stood up and was about to run off the porch, the plank of wood that he was standing on snapped beneath his feet and sent him falling into the same hole that Alfred was trapped in.  
  
    Alfred gasped in shock as he heard and saw the plank snap and saw Arthur falling towards him. Arthur let out a shocked yelp when he fell and a loud, pained groan when he landed on his back on the floor of the hole. He sat up, groaning again, and stared at the opening of the hole. Alfred looked at him, even more fear in his eyes now that Arthur was down there with him.   
  
    "O-oh my Ace, A-Arthur, are you okay!?" he asked as he crawled over to Arthur quickly.  
  
    Arthur nodded, rubbing the back of his head lightly. "Y-yeah, yeah... Yeah, I'm fine," he assured.  
  
    Alfred sighed softly with relief, but afterwards, his breathing began to become shallow again. "Wh-what're we gonna do now, Arthur!? W-we're both stuck down here and there's no one we can call for help and we're gonna be stuck down here forever and no one will ever find us and-"  
  
    Arthur took Alfred's hand gently and pulled him into a hug. "Hey, hey, shh, it's alright. Calm down. We'll figure something out," he promised.   
  
    Alfred nodded, hugging Arthur back and slowing his breathing again. After a few moments, Arthur let go of him and picked up his flashlight again, which he had dropped while he was falling. He began to shine it around him and Alfred, looking to see if there was anything down there that could help them get out of their situation. When he shined the light in front of him and behind him, he found that he and Alfred were not just inside a hole. They were inside a tunnel.   
  
    He gasped in shock upon the discovery. Alfred pulled away from him and looked at him, seeming worried. "What? What is it, Arthur?" he asked.   
  
    Arthur shined the light behind Alfred. "Look behind you..." he muttered.  
  
    Alfred turned around to look where Arthur was shining the light. His eyes widened and he let out a soft, half-gasp, half-squeak as he saw the tunnel that stretched on in front of them. "Holy crap..." he muttered.   
  
    Arthur removed Alfred's arms from himself and stood up slowly, still staring ahead at the light he was shining into the tunnel. He offered his free hand to Alfred, and helped the Prince stand up after he took it. "S-so... What're we gonna do...?" Alfred asked, looking at him.  
  
    "Well, seeing as the only other option we have is to stay here and rot, I'd say we don't have anything to lose by following that tunnel," Arthur replied.  
  
    Alfred grinned broadly. "Then let's go!" he exclaimed. With Arthur's hand still firmly clasped in his own, he darted down the tunnel and pulled Arthur along with him.   
  
    "Be careful, Alfred. Watch where you're going," Arthur told him, trying to hold him back a little bit while keeping the light shined in front of them so that they could see where they were going.  
  
    "Relax, Arthur, it's just a tunnel. There's nothing down here," Alfred said.  
  
    "Well, maybe not yet, but there could be. We don't know anything about this village or why this tunnel is here or anything! I've got a bad feeling about this place..." Arthur muttered.  
  
    "Our only hope of getting above ground again is following this tunnel, Arthur. We've gotta move as quickly as possible or we'll never get back in time, and we  _have_  to get back in time..." Alfred said seriously.  
  
    The boys continued to walk along in the tunnel for several minutes without finding anything. It was just a tunnel that seemed to be endless. There was no way back to the surface, no twists or turns in the tunnel, not even so much as a rat or some other animal for them to see. They were getting tired. They were both beginning to lose hope that they would ever be above ground again, but suddenly...  
  
    "Hey, Arthur, do you hear that...?" Alfred asked slowly. He raised an eyebrow, straining his ears so he could be able to listen better to the sounds that he was hearing.  
  
    Arthur looked at him, a suspicious and confused look on his face. "I don't hear anything," he replied.   
  
    "Come on, how can you not hear that!?" Alfred asked incredulously. "It sounds like... Music, or something! And people talking... Like a party!"   
  
    "Are you saying we're about to stumble upon a secret underground rave, Alfred?" Arthur asked skeptically.   
  
    "I don't know, but maybe! And if there's a bunch of people down here, they must all know a way back to the surface!" Alfred answered.  
  
    "Or they could be a bunch of freaks that we want nothing to do with. Alfred, come on, let's just head back the other way. There's nothing down here but maybe if we go the other way we'll find something," Arthur told him.   
  
    "Come on, Arthur, we're  _so_  close now! You can go back if you want, but I'm gonna go see where all that noise is coming from," Alfred declared.  
  
    Without another word, he let go of Arthur's hand and began walking ahead quickly, wanting to find out where all the noise was coming from as quickly as possible. "H-hey, Alfred, wait!" Arthur shouted, and began to follow Alfred. "You can't go down there on your own, especially without a flashlight! Wait for me, I'm coming too!" he begged. That's when he began to hear the music and the voices, as well.   
  
    "We're almost there, Arthur! The voices are getting really lou-" Alfred's voice was cut off by his loud screaming, which seemed to have an echo effect inside the tunnel.  
  
    Arthur gasped in shock. He hadn't been able to see Alfred for a few minutes, and now that he had heard the scream, he was sure something terrible had happened to him. "A-Alfred, what's happened!? Where are you!?" he called out, but heard no response. "Don't worry, I'm coming for you, Alfred!" he shouted.  
  
    He was about to shout Alfred's name again, when he felt the ground disappear beneath his feet and he was sent tumbling down what looked like a dirt slide of sorts. He screamed the whole way down and didn't stop until he had landed at the bottom of it and crashed into something that had been waiting for him at the bottom. He sat up quickly and shook his head before opening his eyes and staring at whatever he had crashed into. A wave of relief swept over him when he saw that it was Alfred.  
  
    "Oh, thank God you're alright!" Arthur cried out, and pulled Alfred into yet another hug.  
  
    "Y-yeah, I'm fine," Alfred said, but didn't hug Arthur back. Instead, he pulled away from Arthur and gave him a clear view of what was in front of them. "But I think we found that 'dangerous thing'..."  
  
    Arthur's eyes widened in shock as he saw where he and Alfred had found themselves. Loud jazz fusion music was blasting throughout the cave-like tunnel where they had landed, and there were flashing neon lights everywhere. Various neon posters and tapestries decorated the walls and the ceiling to the point where you could barely see any parts of the actual wall. There were hundreds of people sitting at tables or at the various bars inside the cave, talking and cackling among themselves. All of them had crazy hair colors and styles and wore equally crazy clothes. At first glance, it looked exactly like what Arthur had guessed at first; a rave. However, upon closer inspection, they found that it was something far scarier. The boys had found themselves inside a Joker's Lair.  
  
    They could tell by one simple fact; every person in the cave had a large black letter "J" tattooed onto the backs of their left hands. It was the mark of a Joker. Arthur realized with both amazement and horror that Alfred was right. They had found the 'dangerous thing', and it was that this town had a Joker's Lair hidden beneath it. Now, they were trapped in it.  
  
    "A-Arthur, what're we going to do...?" Alfred asked, looking at Arthur with a worried expression on his face. There was no way that they could try to get through the Lair unseen. The Jokers would surely catch them, and who knew what would happen then?  
  
    "I-I don't know..." Arthur mumbled hesitantly. He knew that Alfred was counting on him, but there was really nothing that Arthur could do. It seemed like the only option was for them to let themselves be captured. It surely wouldn't be long before they were noticed.  
  
    "Oi! Well what do we have here, then?" the boys heard an unfamiliar voice shout, towards their direction. Before the knew what was happening, a rather strong-looking man with dark skin and thick black hair walked towards them and picked them both up by the backs of the collars of their shirts. "Looks like we've got some sneaks down here, fellas!"  
  
    Immediately, a swarm of Jokers crowded around Alfred and Arthur, terrifying them out of their wits. The Jokers stared at them, laughed at them and grinned at them mischievously and soon began to poke and prod them in search for anything dangerous they might have brought with them. One of the Jokers swept Alfred's hair aside and caught a glimpse of the Mark of Spades that was imprinted on his neck. When the Joker saw it, she gasped. "Well, would you look at that! We've got ourselves a  _royal_  here! He's from the Spades Kingdom!" she squealed.   
  
    The man who was holding them laughed heartily, jostling Arthur and Alfred around a bit. "You don't say! It's not every day that we Jokers get visited by royalty. Where are our manners?"   
  
    He dropped the boys to the ground, causing them to grunt and gasp as the air was partially knocked out of their lungs. The burly Joker picked them up again and brought them to their feet. Both Alfred and Arthur were immediately surrounded by quite a few female Jokers, who grabbed onto their hands and arms and began pulling them further into the Lair, towards an empty table in the back of the room. The burly Joker followed them.   
  
    The female Jokers pushed Alfred and Arthur into the booth at the table and quickly crawled in beside them, squishing the two of them together as they squeezed in as tightly as possible. It was a rather uncomfortable position, but there was nothing they could do about it. The burly Joker sat in a chair across from them before raising his arm into the air and snapping his fingers. Immediately, another one of the Jokers came over to the table. "What can I get for ya, sir?" he asked.  
  
    "Scotches all around!" the burly Joker replied.   
  
    "Coming right up," the other Joker said, and dashed off again.  
  
    The burly Joker watched him leave before focusing his attention on Alfred and Arthur. "So, what're your names, boys?" he asked jovially.  
  
    "I'm Arthur, sir..." Arthur told him whilst eyeing him wearily.   
  
    "M-my name's Alfred..." Alfred said, trying to shrink back into the booth as much as possible.   
  
    "Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, boys! I'm Carlos, head of this Joker's Lair," the burly Joker replied. "And these lovely girls are Alex, Olivia, Maggie, Francine, Lucia and Flavia," he said as he pointed to each girl in turn.  
  
    "Say, isn't Alfred the boy who made that deal with Peter a little while ago...?" Olivia asked, giggling.  
  
    Francine gasped softly and smirked faintly. "Oh, that's right... When Peter came to visit us, he was just telling us  _all_  about the deal he'd made with the Prince of Spades..." she whispered.   
  
    Immediately, the color vanished from Alfred's face. He shrunk back even further into the booth as all eyes turned towards him, including Arthur's. Alfred felt like he was going to be sick. He had forgotten all about the deal he'd made with the Joker until now, and it was something that he didn't want Arthur to know about at all.  
  
    "Alfred, what are they talking about...? You made a deal with a Joker...?" Arthur asked him, furrowing his brows in suspicion. Alfred said nothing.  
  
    "C'mon, man, tell your boyfriend what happened to you!" Alex urged, prodding Alfred's shoulder a bit roughly.   
  
    Alfred didn't seem to be bothered by her use of the word "boyfriend". If he was, he didn't show it. Arthur, on the other hand, was blushing so much that his face started to look even redder than Alex's hair. "I-I'm not his boyfriend!" he shouted quickly.  
  
    Alex rolled her eyes. "Whatever." She looked at Alfred. "Look, punk, I wanna hear the story, so if you don't tell him then I guess we'll just have to call Peter here to tell us himself!" she exclaimed.  
  
    "I-I, uh... I-"  
  
    Thankfully, Alfred was saved from having to say anything just yet. The Joker that Carlos had sent to get drinks had come back, and he placed glasses of scotch in front of each person sitting at the table, including Alfred and Arthur. He placed a large bottle of scotch in the middle of the table and left again.  
  
    Alfred stared down at the glass in front of him with confusion. He then looked up at Carlos. "Are we supposed to be drinking this, too?" he asked, meaning both himself and Arthur.  
  
    "Well, of course you are!" Carlos answered.  
  
    "But... It's alcohol... It's not even wine or champagne, and we're underage..." Alfred protested.  
  
    "Your friend doesn't seem to have a problem with it," Carlos said, and pointed to Arthur, who was already downing his glass in one go. Alfred's eyes widened as Arthur placed his cup back on the table, and Carlos picked up the bottle to pour him more.  
  
    "A-Arthur, what're you doing!?" Alfred asked incredulously.   
  
    Arthur picked up his glass again once Carlos had finished pouring him more scotch, and he looked at Alfred. "What? We were offered a drink and it would be impolite to refuse. Besides, I drink shit worse than this all the time at the tavern back home," he said nonchalantly, and began to drink his second glass.  
  
    "Your parents let you drink alcohol...?" Alfred asked skeptically.  
  
    Arthur laughed. "Of course not. They'd probably kill me if they found out. But I don't care," he said.   
  
    "Come on, Alfie, you should give it a try. It'll make ya feel real good!" Alex insisted.   
  
    "A glass or two won't do you any harm, darling. No one here is going to tell Daddy, we promise," Olivia cooed.   
  
    "You're already breaking the rules by sneaking out of the castle, so why not have a little more fun while you're at it?" Maggie asked.  
  
    "I-I... Guess it couldn't hurt to try..." Alfred said. Carlos and the ladies grinned broadly.   
  
    Alfred reached hesitantly for his glass and picked it up. His hands shook a little as he brought the rim of the glass to his lips. The smell of it was strange; like a mixture of a musky basement and a hospital. He wrinkled his nose a bit, his resolve to drink it getting weaker by the second.   
  
    "Just hurry up and get it over with, man! Stop being such a baby!" Alex shouted.  
  
    Alfred took a deep breath, closed his eyes, tilted his head back and downed the entire glass. Immediately, he regretted his decision. The scotch seemed to burn his throat as he swallowed. It tasted even worse than it smelled; like leather or a burnt piece of wood. He slammed his cup back down onto the table and shivered, feeling disgusted with both himself and the drink.  
  
    "That was  _awful!_ " he shouted. The girls laughed at him.   
  
    "Not bad for your first try, sugar," Flavia told him.  
  
    "Don't worry, it starts to taste better after you've had a few rounds," Lucia said.  
  
    "You should have another go!" Alex exclaimed.  
  
    Alfred stuck his tongue out and shook his head frantically. "N-no thanks. No. I-I don't want anything to do with that again," he dismissed.  
  
    "Oh, are you giving up already, darling?" Olivia asked, frowning.  
  
    "Wow, what a wuss," Maggie scoffed.   
  
    "Guess he's afraid of becoming a man..." Francine muttered.  
  
    The girls continued to pressure him until he gave in once again. Carlos poured him another glass and he downed the whole thing just the same as last time, and gave the same reaction. The girls began to pressure him again. They were convinced not to let him stop until he had become a master scotch drinker.   
  
    Arthur had sat quietly and watched Alfred during the first two drinks, deeming that no harm could be done by two measly glasses. When the girls started pressuring him to drink more, that's when Arthur got worried. He could tell that Alfred was uncomfortable, and also that he wasn't able to defend himself against peer pressure. If Arthur didn't say something, the girls would have him drunk in no time.  
  
    "H-Hey, that's enough," he said, tapping on Francine's shoulder to get her to stop pestering Alfred, but none of the girls listened. Alfred downed another glass.  
  
    "Hey, I said stop that! He's had enough!" Arthur shouted, but still they didn't listen. Carlos refilled Alfred's glass.   
  
    "You guys are going to get him drunk! Stop pressuring him!" Arthur screamed. Alfred downed the glass.  
  
    **"I SAID THAT'S ENOUGH!"** Arthur grabbed Alfred's empty glass from his hand and threw it at the wall across from them. It shattered as soon as it hit the wall and fell to the ground. Everyone in the bar turned their heads to look at Arthur.   
  
    Alfred groaned softly and laid his head down on the table, looking like he was about to throw up. Arthur glared at the people around him and pulled Alfred into his lap gently. "Piss off, bitches," he hissed at the girls. He then stood up, carrying Alfred bridal-style in his arms, and stepped onto the table. He walked across it and jumped off, landing on his feet on the floor and beginning to walk deeper into the lair.   
  
    Immediately, Carlos and the girls stood up and began to follow Arthur as he carried a miserable Alfred, who clung to Arthur as if his life depended on it. "Hey, where are you going, boys? We were just playing around. We didn't mean any harm!" Carlos shouted to them.  
  
    "Playing around my  _arse!_  You just forced the Prince of Spades to get himself drunk! Now we're getting out of here before you can cause any more trouble!" Arthur shouted, beginning to walk faster.  
  
    "Where do you think you're gonna go, punk? You think you can navigate the tunnels down here? You'll die in twenty minutes, tops! The traps down here are worse than you could imagine!" Maggie shouted at them.  
  
    Arthur ignored them. He started to run. He held onto Alfred tightly. He could hear the Jokers chasing him. With every step he took, they were getting two steps closer to him. It wouldn't be long before they caught him. In a matter of seconds, they had surrounded him. There was nowhere for him to go.  
  
    Arthur growled at them as they began to close in on him and Alfred. He held Alfred protectively and kept as close to the center of the circle they had made as possible. He was preparing to fight if he had to. "What the hell do you want from me?" he asked them.   
  
    "Oh, we just want your company, darling," Olivia told him sweetly.  
  
    "It's been absolutely  _ages_  since we've had anyone visit us," Francine said.  
  
    "It gets lonely down here with no one to play with," Alex purred.   
  
    "You can't keep us down here forever! We'll find a way out, and when we do, you'll be sorry!" Arthur growled.  
  
    Lucia clucked her tongue in disdain. "Such hollow threats. Honestly, Arthur, we thought you were smarter than that," she said.  
  
    "Everyone knows that the only way to get out of a Joker's lair is with a Joker's help," Flavia cooed.   
  
    "And the only way to get a Joker's help is to make them a deal," Maggie hissed.   
  
    Arthur cringed at the word, but he knew that he didn't have any other options. If he didn't bargain with one of these Jokers, then he and Alfred would never get out of this Hell hole. He wasn't going to let the Jokers keep him and Alfred down there. He'd get them out no matter what it took.   
  
    "Fine. Then let's make a deal," he said, and approached Carlos. "What would you have me give in exchange for my and Alfred's freedom?"   
  
    Carlos' lips curled into a wide smirk. "I'm so glad you asked, friend," he said. "I think... In exchange for your freedom... You should give me something that usually allows for you to get away..."  
  
    "Oh?" Arthur asked. "And what might that be?"  
  
    "Ah, nothing too important... I just want your motorcycle," Carlos said.   
  
    Arthur's face paled. "Y-you want my bike...?" he asked quietly.  
  
    "It seems fair enough, don't you think? It's really a small price to pay for your freedom," Carlos said.   
  
    Alfred shook his head and looked up at Arthur. "N-no, no! L-let me make the deal, Arthur! Don't let him have your bike!" he shouted.   
  
    "No. I'm not going to let you get in trouble, Alfred. I-I don't need my bike. I'll be fine," Arthur insisted.   
  
    He looked at Carlos and nodded. "Fine. Take my bike and get me and Alfred out of here," he hissed.  
  
    "Deal," Carlos said.  
  
    He snapped his fingers and sent Alfred and Arthur away. They disappeared from the Joker's lair and reappeared in the spot on the surface where Arthur had parked his bike. The bike was gone. The deal had been made. Alfred and Arthur were safe, but Arthur's bike was now the property of Carlos the Joker.   
  
    Arthur set Alfred down and sighed softly. His bike was his most prized possession. It was his getaway; the one thing that could take him away from his troubles and make him feel free when life was getting tough. Now it was gone. He'd had to trade it because of his and Alfred's carelessness. Of course, he didn't blame Alfred for any of it. He only blamed himself.  
  
    Alfred, on the other hand, blamed himself for everything. If he hadn't fallen into the tunnel in the first place, Arthur wouldn't have tried to rescue him. If Arthur hadn't tried to rescue him, Arthur wouldn't have fallen into the tunnel. If they hadn't fallen into the tunnel, the wouldn't have gotten trapped in the Joker's lair, and Arthur would still have his bike. Everything was Alfred's fault.  
  
    He looked at Arthur with a guilty look on his face. "I-I'm really sorry... I-I didn't mean for this to happen... I-It's all my fault..." he muttered.   
  
    Arthur smiled weakly at him and ran a hand through his own hair. "No. Don't apologize. It's okay, it's not your fault," he assured.  
  
    "But... Your bike..."  
  
    "It's not a big deal," Arthur dismissed. "I'll just tell mum and dad that it was stolen. I'll get a new one, eventually. I can live without it."   
  
    "I'll make it up to you somehow. I promise," Alfred said seriously.  
  
    "I... Okay," Arthur said. "But maybe we should get out of here before anything else happens..."  
  
    Alfred nodded in agreement. "Yeah. You're right. Come on, we'll ride Moshu back to your village and then I'll go back home."  
  
    "It's already pretty early, Alfred. Are you sure you'll be able to get back to the castle in time if you drop me off first? Because I can walk back home. I don't want you to get in trouble," Arthur said.  
  
    "There's no way I'm letting you walk all the way back to Shale," Alfred declared. "You're riding Moshu with me and that's final. I'll be fine."  
  
    Arthur sighed softly. "Alright. Let's just go as soon as we can, then," he said.  
  
    Alfred led Arthur to where he had left Moshu. He opened the door to the stable where he was keeping Moshu and mounted the horse when he walked out. Arthur did the same and sat behind Alfred. Together, they rode out of the village of Burlone and towards the city of Shale.   
  
    To Alfred and Arthur, it didn't feel like the ride took too long. However, the sky said otherwise. By the time that they had arrived in Shale, the sun had begun to rise. Arthur dismounted the horse quickly, but Alfred stayed mounted. There was no time for a long goodbye. Alfred was running out of time to get back home.  
  
    "Thank you for bringing me home, Alfred," Arthur said, looking up at Alfred.  
  
    "Yeah. No problem. I'll email you when I get home, okay?" Alfred promised.  
  
    Arthur smiled and nodded. "Yeah. I'll reply when I can," he said.  
  
    "Alright. See you around," Alfred said. He began to rear the horse and turn it around, but Arthur stopped him.  
  
    "Alfred, wait!"  
  
    Alfred stopped Moshu from moving and looked down at Arthur. "Yeah? What is it?" he asked.  
  
    "The Jokers... They were talking about how you had made a deal with one of them... What was that about?" Arthur asked.  
  
    Alfred's face paled again momentarily, but he quickly cleared his throat and shook his head. "Nothing. It's not important. Nothing you need to worry about," he said.  
  
    By the way Alfred's face had paled and the way he was trying to avoid talking about the incident, Arthur was sure that it  _was_  something that he should worry about. However, he didn't want to make Alfred uncomfortable and he knew that there wasn't time to waste on a story, anyways. Maybe he'd find out what the deal was about someday, but it wasn't going to be today.  
  
    "Right. Okay. Well, see you around, then," Arthur said, smiling softly at him.  
  
    Alfred smiled back. "Yeah, see you around."   
  
    Without another word, Alfred turned his horse around and rode off into what was left of the night. Arthur watched him until he couldn't see the Prince anymore. It was only when the silhouette of his best friend was gone that he began to walk back to his own home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all guys, I would just like to say I am SO sorry for not updating this story in a while. I've been hella busy lately and just didn't have the time to write it. Fortunately, my life seems to have quieted down now and I should be able to upload things more frequently.
> 
> I debated splitting this chapter into two chapters since it's almost 2,000 words longer than the others, but I couldn't find a good place to split it so I kept it how it is. I think it turned out to be pretty exciting!


	5. Of Father and Son

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alfred is awoken by his father the morning after the young Prince had returned from the dreadful village of Burlone. His father has something important to teach him, but the lessons push Alfred beyond his limits. That is, until Yao steps in to help.

_"The biggest room in the world is the room for improvement."_  
_-Unknown_  


 

  
Sunlight streamed into the bedroom of the sleeping Prince of Spades through the open window on the wall beside his bed. He was faced away from it, but somehow it was still hitting his eyes. Groaning softly, Alfred pulled his comforter over his head and attempted to stay asleep for longer. 

    Alfred had been so tired last night that he could hardly remember what had happened after he had given Yao's horse back to Leon. Fortunately, he had made it back into his room somehow. Although, he had forgotten to shut the window and close the curtains, but he was too tired to think about that right now. All that mattered right now was sleep.

    Unfortunately, Alfred didn't get much more of that. In a few minutes, the doors to his bedroom were thrown open and someone walked across the room and to his bed, only to tear the comforter off of him and make him extremely uncomfortable. Alfred whined loudly and buried his face in his pillow. "Give it back..." he mumbled.

    "Stop that whining, brat, and get out of bed before I drag you out."

    Alfred's blood ran cold. He had been whining at his father? That was one of the quickest ways to make him angry, and if he was angry, who knew what would happen to Alfred. He sat bolt upright in his bed and opened his eyes. He looked at his father's chest but refused to look any higher. "I-I'm sorry, Father. Please forgive me for my disrespect," he said quietly.

    The King pursed his lips. "You are forgiven," he said flatly. "Now perhaps you would like to tell me why your bedroom window is open?" he inquired, crossing his arms.

    "I-I, uh... U-um..." he fumbled for an answer as he tried to keep his skin looking a natural color instead of the ghostly white he was sure it was starting to become. He couldn't believe he had been stupid enough not to shut the window when he came in last night. "I-I asked Yao to open it last night because it was too hot in my room. I-I guess he forgot to shut it," he finally said, and decided to look up at his father's face in an attempt to make his story sound more believable. He felt guilty for putting Yao at fault for the open window, but he knew that his father would be much kinder to the Jack than he would ever be to his own son. 

    "Hm..." the King hummed thoughtfully. "I suppose I shall have to have a word with him, then," he said. Alfred inwardly breathed a sigh of relief that his father had believed his lie.

    "In the meantime, get dressed. You and I have work to do today," his father said before turning around and beginning to walk out of the room.

    Alfred raised an eyebrow. "Work? What kind of work, Father?" he asked.

    The King stopped walking and turned to look at his son for a moment. "You're old enough now to be taught how to control the magic that every Spades heir is born with. I am going to teach you. So get dressed and meet me in the garden in twenty minutes. If you're late, I shall be very displeased," he explained, narrowing his eyes at Alfred for a moment before continuing to exit the room.

    Alfred jumped out of bed quickly and ran to his bedroom door. He closed it and locked it before running to the window and doing the same. He then closed the curtains over the window and ran to his bathroom, stripping himself of all his clothes as he went.

    He turned his shower on quickly and didn't even wait for the water to warm up before jumping in. He shivered and shrieked as the ice cold water hit his back and drenched his hair. He had to suffer through it. He only had twenty minutes to meet his father in the garden, though it was probably less than that now.

    He quickly washed his hair and his body in the icy water, but was able to rinse himself off with warm water, as it had finally heated up by that point. He didn't spend a single unnecessary moment lingering under the warm water. As soon as he was clean, he turned the shower off and jumped out of it. 

    He quickly grabbed a towel off of the rack on his bathroom wall and began to dry himself with it while running back into his bedroom and to his wardrobe. He dropped the towel and pulled the doors to the wardrobe open. He dug through his clothes for a moment before pulling some out that he thought would please his father and that would be suitable for learning magic in.

    He dressed himself quickly and ran to his bedroom door once again. He quickly unlocked it, opened it, and dashed out into the hallway. Usually he would have cleaned his room on his own since he didn't see any point in making the maids do it, but there was no time today. He dashed off to the garden as fast as his legs could carry him.

    His father was waiting for him in the same spot that he usually had his lessons with Yao. The only acknowledgement the King gave his son as the boy approached him was a slight nod while keeping his usual grim expression on his face. Alfred stopped running when he was about five feet in front of his father and stood at attention. 

    "I'm ready to learn, Father!" he said.

    His father grunted in response. "Fine. Then, first things first, you have to know exactly what it is you're trying to learn. Do you know what powers the King of Spades has?" he inquired.

    "It's, uh... It's time manipulation, right?" Alfred asked.

    The King sighed deeply. " _All_  Spades royalty have the ability to manipulate time. How,  _specifically,_  can the King of Spades do it?" he asked.

    "U-um... He can..." Alfred searched his mind for an answer, but none came to him. He didn't know what the answer was and he was afraid to guess and get it wrong. He looked down at his feet, showing his father that he was ashamed of the answer he was about to give. "I don't know, Father."

    The King rolled his eyes. "Of course you don't," he said harshly. He then grabbed a handful of Alfred's hair and forced his head up to look at him as Alfred winced. "Look at me when I'm talking to you," he commanded.

    Alfred nodded quickly. "Y-yes, Father," he said, and the King let go of his hair. 

    "The King of Spades has the power to speed up, slow down, or completely stop time within a specific area or for a specific person," his father began. "The range and duration of the manipulation depends on the King's strength and energy. For example, I am a very strong and well rested man. At the moment, I could probably stop time in the entire castle and the surrounding grounds. Though, for someone as weak as you, I'd expect you might only be able to stop time for one of the birds in the aviary. And of course, using your powers will drain your energy, so be careful with them or you may find yourself fainting at a very inopportune moment."

    Alfred nodded, showing that he understood, while trying not to let his outside expression reflect the emotions he was feeling inside. He was simultaneously upset, discouraged, and embarrassed that his father already thought so poorly of his abilities. He hadn't even tried anything yet and his father was already so sure that he would be a failure at it. 

    His father hummed for a moment before continuing. "Our powers are sealed away within our Royal Marks until they are released by either an Ace or the current possessor of the power's position. Only a King or an Ace can activate the future King's power, only a Queen or an Ace can activate the future Queen's power, and only a Jack or an Ace can activate the future Jack's power. The powers are sealed so that you are unable to use them as an infant and can only use them when you are old enough to control them," he said.

    "How do you activate them...?" Alfred asked. 

    "Come here," the King ordered, not giving Alfred an actual answer.

    Alfred nodded and stepped closer to his father. He watched as his father raised a hand, and he flinched, thinking that his father was about to strike him. However, the King merely pressed the palm of his hand against the Royal Mark on the right side of Alfred's neck. Alfred felt a jolt of energy surge through him, causing him to gasp and flinch once again as it shocked his entire body. After that, the King pulled his hand away.

    "There. Your powers have been set free," he said.

    Alfred stood in silence for a moment, shivering as his new power surged through his body. He could definitely feel a change within himself. It excited and terrified him at the same time. He felt himself become more confident, for now he felt powerful, but at the same time, he was afraid of that power. This strange feeling was definitely going to take some time to get used to.

    "Now, you are to practice your abilities. You'll need a target first, of course. We'll try something small, since your powers are weak," his father said.

    "Um... Right... What should I try them on...?" Alfred asked. 

    "Wait here," his father instructed. Alfred nodded and watched as his father began to walk towards the aviary. He waited a few minutes, and his father returned with one of the birds from the aviary.

    "Focus your powers on this bird," his father instructed. "Just think about stopping the bird in time, or slowing it down, or speeding it up. You should be able to do it if you focus hard enough."

    Alfred nodded, and prepared to clear his mind so that he could focus on the bird. When Alfred's father saw that his son was preparing himself, he let the bird go and it began to fly away. Alfred followed the bird with his eyes and tried to think about stopping time for it. He felt himself starting to get warmer, as if the blood inside of him was starting to boil. His head started to hurt. He was only able to stop the bird for a few seconds before he started to feel lightheaded, and he stopped.

    "Pathetic," his father spat, looking upon his son with disdain. Alfred stared at the ground, ashamed that he had disappointed his father.

    "I-I'm sorry Father. Let me try again," he pleaded. 

    His father grunted in response, but by the tone of it, Alfred knew that he had been granted a second chance. He focused on the bird once again, this time thinking about speeding time up for it. Once again he felt as if his blood were going to boil, but he had started sweating this time. The headache was bigger and he began to feel weak in his knees. After a few seconds, he wasn't able to hold himself up anymore. He stumbled forward, landing on his hands and knees on the ground, and lost focus on the bird. 

    "For Elder's Sake, Alfred, what is wrong with you? You are the most pathetic excuse for a Prince that I have ever seen. You can't even use your powers for a measly ten seconds? I've seen children with more power than you!" his father shouted at him.

    Alfred closed his eyes, refusing to look up at his father or even lift himself off of the ground. "I-I'm sorry, Father... I-I'm just not strong enough yet..." he whimpered.

    "No, you  _are_  strong enough, Alfred. You're just being a lazy little bastard, like always. Now pick yourself up before I force you to your feet," his father commanded.

    Alfred scrambled to his feet as soon as the words had left his father's mouth. He dusted himself off and stood at attention once again. He looked at his father's face, but refused to look in his eyes. His father grunted once again.

    "Now try it again. From now on, you will be disciplined if you do not keep your powers active for a full minute," he hissed.

    Alfred swallowed thickly and scanned the sky for the bird. He had to keep his powers active for a whole minute? He was  _positive_  that he couldn't do that. But if he didn't, he knew that his father would probably hit him, or maybe something worse. His father had said that if he forced his powers too much, he would faint, right...? Honestly, he would have preferred to pass out rather than deal with whatever discipline his father decided to give him. So he'd either make it to one minute or pass out before then.

    Alfred finally found the bird and focused on it once again. This time, he tried to use his powers to slow time down for the bird. It seemed like slowing time down was the easiest of his powers to use. It took longer for him to start sweating and for the rest of his body to feel weak. Even so, it was still incredibly draining for him. He tried so hard to hang on for sixty seconds, but it was impossible for him. He made it to forty seconds before his eyes rolled back in his head and he collapsed to the ground as if he were dead.

    The King of Spades stared down at his son's limp body in disgust. He clucked his tongue in disdain before calling the bird back to him. The bird flew towards him and landed firmly on his shoulder. The King took one last glance at his son before stepping away and walking back towards the aviary.

 

\---

  
    When Alfred woke up, he was back in his bedroom again. It was dark, thankfully, for the lights were off and the curtains were drawn this time. Unfortunately, Alfred regretted waking up as soon as he had opened his eyes. He still had a splitting headache and his body ached all over. Okay, so maybe passing out wasn't actually preferable to whatever his father would have done, after all...

    He kept quiet. He didn't whimper or groan or cry, even though he so desperately wanted to. He wouldn't give his father that satisfaction. After all, his father had planned this, hadn't he? It was that horrible man's goal from the very beginning to get Alfred to push himself to the breaking point. It had to be. 

    The only sounds in the room came from the fabrics of his sheets and comforter rubbing together as he shuffled about in his bed, trying to get into a more comfortable position. What he didn't notice was that there was someone else in the room with him.

    "Ah, Alfred, you're awake."

    "H-huh?" Alfred rolled over in his bed once again to look in the direction that the voice had come from. He found that Yao had been sitting in a chair in the corner of his room, and that the Jack was now standing from said chair and walking over to Alfred's bed.

    "How are you feeling?" Yao inquired.

    "Like I'm in Hell," Alfred mumbled. There was no need to sugarcoat things with Yao now that they were on friendlier terms with each other.

    Yao sighed softly. "I was afraid of that," he said.

    "How'd I get in my room, Yao...? There's no way in hell that my Father brought me here," Alfred said, trying to steer away from the subject of how much pain he was in at the moment.

    "Your father asked me to bring you back inside, and I decided to watch over you until you woke up," Yao answered.

    "Oh, well, thank you..." Alfred said quietly.

    "You're welcome, Alfred," Yao said. "And for the record, I'm proud of you. I don't think that it was right of your father to push you that hard, but I'm proud of you for pushing yourself even though you knew what would happen."

    Alfred shrugged. "Thought it would've been better than being hit," he murmured. 

    Yao gave Alfred a sympathetic look before sighing softly and turning back to the chair. There were a few books stacked beside it, and he walked to them and picked them up. He then brought them back to Alfred's bed and set them on top of it.

    "I found some books in the library about learning to control royal magic. One of them is specifically about the King's magic and the rest of them have sections for each of the different royal magics. You should read them when you're feeling up to it. You might be able to learn something that will impress your father," he said. 

    "I... Th-thank you, Yao," Alfred said, his eyes widening a little. He was surprised that Yao had gone out of his way to do this for him. Sure, they were harboring a secret together, but Alfred hardly thought that Yao thought anything more of him because of it. Apparently, he was wrong. 

    "You're welcome, Alfred. Make sure you put at least some of that information to good use for me, hm?" Yao asked, giving the boy a soft smile.

    Alfred nodded subtly. "I will," he promised. 

    "Good. Now, I better get back to work before your father notices I'm gone. Do you want me to bring you anything?" Yao asked.

    Alfred shook his head. "No, I think I'm alright for now," he replied.

    Yao nodded. "If you need anything, call for me," he said.

    "I will," Alfred promised. 

    Yao hummed in response before walking away from the bed. He walked to the door, opened it, and left the room, leaving Alfred to his own devices. It was at least another half an hour before Alfred felt strong enough to sit up, but once he had, the first thing he did was grab one of the books that Yao had given him, and he started to read.

 

\---

  
    Starting that week, Alfred began to train with his father every other day to learn how to use his magic. On the days that he wasn't training with his father, he was training with Yao. While Yao didn't know how control the magic of the King, he did know how to find resources to help Alfred learn. He and Alfred practiced together in secret so that Alfred could impress his father with the things he had learned. Honestly, Alfred could say that he had learned more from Yao than he had from his father.

    The books that Alfred had read were filled with all sorts of useful tips, tricks, and lessons to help him learn to control his powers. He learned how to focus better, how to prepare himself before using his powers, how to get his energy back quickly, how to keep from using his energy too quickly, and how to become stronger. Every day that he spent with Yao, he would practice a different technique, and each time he trained with his father, he was stronger than the last time.

    Each time Alfred would train with his father, the King would push Alfred to his limits. There were many more fainting incidents, but Alfred could feel his resistance building up quickly. Even though the King would never admit it, Alfred could tell that his father was impressed, and perhaps even a little scared.

    Eventually, it got to the point where Alfred's father only thought that Alfred needed to practice his powers once a week. Even so, he still practiced with Yao some days, and he even practiced by himself. After about three months, Alfred had gotten powerful enough to manipulate time over the entire castle and its grounds. 

    Of course, Alfred and Arthur had still been keeping in contact with each other by sending each other emails as often as they could, which was thankfully almost every day. Arthur told Alfred stories about his family and his village, and Alfred filled Arthur in on all of the magic that he had been learning. Each of them found the other's tales to be just as exciting as something out of a storybook.

    Unfortunately, they hadn't been able to see each other in person at all during this time. There was no way that they were going to go back to Burlone after what had happened to them last time, and they hadn't found a new place to meet up yet. On top of that, there just hadn't been a good time for it yet. Alfred's father had been so busy with teaching Alfred that he hadn't gone out of town or held any more parties or anything like that, and Alfred was always too tired after his training to even  _think_  about sneaking away. But now that he was stronger, that was all about to change.

    It was 11:00 PM, and Alfred was just about to go to bed. However, he checked his email once again before turning his computer off. He hadn't gotten a reply from Arthur all day, and he was starting to think he wouldn't have one until tomorrow. Unfortunately, he was right. There was still nothing from Arthur. But Alfred was too excited to wait for Arthur's reply to tell the Hearts boy the idea that he had. He quickly pressed the "new message" button and began typing another email to Arthur.

     _Arthur! I just had the best idea ever! My magic's gotten really strong lately, right? In fact, right now it's so strong that I can control time over the entire area of my castle and the grounds! It's been too long since we've seen each other. I want you to come to my castle. I'll stop time here when you get close so that you can sneak in, and we can hang out with each other without anyone noticing! It'll be fun, I promise._

    -Alfred

    He finished the email and pressed the "send" button. Once it had sent successfully, he closed his internet browser and turned off his computer. When the computer was shut down, he stood up from his desk, walked over to his bed, climbed into it, and fell fast asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my God I am SO sorry this has taken SO long to update, guys!! My life's been a roller coaster these past couple of months, honestly, and my writing muse has been almost non-existent. Fortunately, this week I've been more motivated than ever to get things done and I think it's safe to say my writing muse is back for a little while! 
> 
> I was stuck on ideas for this chapter for a while. Honestly I wasn't sure what I wanted to happen next. I have almost the entire middle and ending of this series planned out, but this is still technically the beginning. I don't think we'll reach the middle until chapter 7 or 8 at least. 
> 
> Anyways, I decided that it was time to introduce some more of my headcanons about Cardverse, including mainly that the Royal Family of each Suit has special magical abilities. As well as that, I used this chapter as an opportunity to shed a little more light on Alfred's relationship with his father and to show you guys just how terrible he really is. If you thought he was bad here, just wait until you see what I have in store for the future chapters.
> 
> I hope you guys are still enjoying my story and I hope to have the next chapter up soon!


	6. Time Can't Stop Forever

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alfred uses his magic to stop time in and around the Castle of Spades so that Arthur can sneak in undetected. However, their plan goes sour when Alfred uses too much of his power and passes out. Arthur sees for the first time just how cruel Alfred's father can be.

_“Arrogance is a creature. It does not have senses._

_It has only a sharp tongue and the pointing finger.”_

_― Toba Beta_

 

\---

  
  Three days had passed since Alfred had invited Arthur to his castle before the boys were actually able to carry out their plan. It took them three days of corresponding to plan everything out. Furthermore, they were planning it by themselves. Alfred hadn't even told Yao about what he was planning to do.  
  
    Fortunately, Arthur was able to make up another excuse that his parents believed so that he could get out of the house for the day. He had told them that he was going out with his buddies to the festival that happened to be in town that day. His friends didn't know exactly where Arthur was going, but they covered for him all the same.  
  
    Arthur had been able to get a new bike by then. The capital city of the Spades Kingdom was much farther from Arthur's city than the Joker village of Burlone was, and Arthur and Alfred wanted to have as much time as possible together, so Arthur had to get up extremely early that day. He was out of bed by 4:30 AM and was on the road by 5:00. At the rate he was driving, he would be at the castle by about 10:00 AM.  
  
    Anticipating this, Alfred began stopping time around the entirety of the castle grounds at 9:50. Once he was sure that the spell was working, he walked slowly out of the castle and to the gates that marked the entrance to the inner grounds. He tried to conserve as much energy as possible. To be honest, he wasn't exactly sure how long he could keep this up for, but he was going to try his best to keep the spell up for as long as possible.  
  
    Arthur parked and hid his bike inside a circle of bushes that he found in the forest near the castle grounds. He knew that he couldn't risk having it found, even if Alfred had frozen time. He could never be too cautious. This operation had to be as smooth and careful as possible. He walked the rest of the way to the castle.  
  
    It was around 10:05 by the time Arthur finally made it to the gates of the castle. Immediately, he could feel the that atmosphere around him had changed. Everything felt so much slower than normal. Somehow, it was nerve-wrackingly silent. The air around him seemed colder, yet it seemed warmer at the same time. It was an indescribable feeling. Truthfully, it made Arthur uneasy.   
  
    However, most of his uneasiness vanished when he saw Alfred standing behind the closed gates to the castle. Arthur smiled broadly and ran towards the gates, grabbing onto the bars with both of his hands and standing in front of Alfred. Alfred smiled and did the same, wrapping his hands around Arthur's instead of the bars. "Arthur, you're here!" he exclaimed.  
  
    Arthur laughed softly. "Of course I'm here. We set up this plan together, didn't we? I wouldn't miss out on a chance to see you," he said.  
  
    Alfred let go of Arthur's hands and walked over to the gate's lock. "Hang on, I'm gonna let you in!" he exclaimed. Arthur watched eagerly as Alfred typed a password into the gates' lock and pressed the button to have them opened. They were too heavy to be opened manually, even if they were unlocked.  
  
    Arthur stood back as the gates began to open outwards. Once the opening was big enough for Arthur to get into, he slipped through them and hugged Alfred once he was inside. Alfred laughed and hugged him back before having the gates closed and locked again.   
  
    "I can't believe you're really here! I can't believe this worked!" Alfred shouted excitedly, laughing.   
  
    "Honestly, I can't believe it, either," Arthur admitted. "This is amazing, Alfred. You haven't been learning magic for that long and you can already cast a spell as powerful as this... It's just... Spectacular."  
  
    Alfred blushed and smiled bashfully. "Well, Yao helped a lot... I really just wanted to impress my dad, that's all..." he said.  
  
    A bitter taste formed in Arthur's mouth at the mention of Alfred's father, though he had not been the one to mention the current King of Spades. He didn't understand why Alfred wanted to impress such a horrible man, though he supposed that Alfred  _had_  to impress his father to keep from getting punished... Arthur's hatred for that man grew more and more with each passing second.  
  
    However, he quickly shrugged off his bitterness and smiled softly at Alfred again. "So, are you going to give me the grand tour or what?" he asked.  
  
    "Of course I am! I'm gonna show you  _everything!_ " Alfred answered. He then grabbed Arthur's hand and began to drag Arthur off to explore the Castle of Spades.   
  
    Of course, they explored the courtyard first. There wasn't much to see in the front courtyard. It was big, but it was empty. It was almost completely paved over, except for the large fountain in the middle of the courtyard and a few patches of grass that were expertly shaped into the symbol of Spades. There wasn't much to show off.  
  
    However, the back courtyard was an entirely different story. That was where all the beauty was. The garden and the aviary. All the trees and the shrubs and the flowers, and all the beautiful birds with the most vibrant and colorful feathers that you could ever dream of. There was a fountain in the middle of the garden, too. Arthur was so amazed with all of it.   
  
    "If you think this place looks great now, you should see it when it isn't frozen in time," Alfred said softly, admiring the look of complete and utter wonder that was painted on Arthur's face. "Right now, it's not nearly as beautiful as it usually is," he continued, as Arthur took his attention away from the garden to look at Alfred. "I wish you could see it when it's alive and animated. It's much more magical."  
  
    "I'm sure I'll get to see it someday, Alfred, but I'm perfectly content with the view I already have for now," Arthur assured.   
  
    Alfred was silent for a moment. Arthur's previous statement had caught him off guard a little. He wasn't sure if Arthur was being serious or not, but the way Alfred saw it, there wasn't any way that Arthur could be serious. Not when they were stuck in the situation that they were faced with because of Alfred's father.  
  
    "Do you really think you'll get to see it when it's alive...? That you'll be able to come here without a spell one day...?" Alfred asked quietly.  
  
    "Well, sure I will. I mean, we're clever enough to devise a plan for that one day. Besides, your father won't rule this land forever. It'll be yours one day, and when you're the one in charge, your father can't keep me away from here anymore," Arthur answered.  
  
    Alfred averted his eyes. "I dunno, Arthur. I dunno if I can rule Spades. I think my father doesn't want me to. He keeps telling me that at the rate I'm going, I'll never be good enough to rule this kingdom. He'll probably try to find someone to take my place..." he admitted.  
  
    Arthur's eyes widened slightly. "Alfred, don't talk like that. Of course you can rule this kingdom. You'll be an amazing king, I'm sure of it. Besides, your father can't have anyone take your place. The firstborn child of the current King will be their successor. You are the firstborn, the Prince of Spades. Your father can't replace you unless you don't want the throne," he said.  
  
    "Well, maybe I don't want the throne, Arthur," Alfred said.  
  
    "Why wouldn't you...?" Arthur inquired.   
  
    "Because you don't know me as well as you think you do, Arthur!" Alfred shouted, making Arthur flinch.  
  
    Alfred's face fell. "I-I'm sorry, I-I didn't mean to yell at you. It's just... Arthur, you don't understand anything that goes on inside these walls. All you know about me is the me that is brave enough to rebel against my father so that I can have a friend... But you don't know the lessons I have to take, the things I have to learn, the things that I'm bad at, the things that my father punishes me for... You may have seen the real me, but you don't know the me that I have to be in front of my father, and you don't know what it feels like to know that neither the real you or the fake you is good enough. If my father says that I'm not good enough to be the King of Spades, then I'm not going to be," he explained grimly.  
  
    Silence passed between the two for a moment as Arthur contemplated what he wanted to say. However, Alfred decided to speak again before Arthur could. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said anything about it in the first place. Today isn't about me. It's about us having fun together. So just forget I said anything and let's go see the inside of the castle, okay?" he asked.  
  
    "I... Well, okay, if you say so... But you know it's okay to talk to me about those kinds of things, don't you? I know you can't complain to anyone else. I want to be there for you," Arthur said.  
  
    Alfred smiled faintly. "Thanks, Arthur. I'll keep that in mind. Now come on, I'm gonna show you the entire castle today!" he exclaimed before grabbing Arthur's hand again and pulling him inside the castle.  
  
    The first room that Alfred decided to show Arthur was the throne room. The two of them were giggling and running as fast as they could towards it. Alfred pushed the doors to the throne room open eagerly and stepped inside. However, he froze in his tracks and his face went pale. Arthur frowned when he saw how tense Alfred had become. He stopped beside Alfred and looked at him worriedly.  
  
    "Alfred, what is it...? What's wrong?" he asked softly.  
  
    Alfred swallowed a little thickly and pointed in front of him. Arthur shifted his gaze to look at what Alfred was pointing at, and saw a familiar figure standing frozen in time in the middle of the room. Though the man's back was turned to the two boys, both of them could still tell that it was Alfred's father.  
  
    "Oh... Alfred, it's okay, he's frozen, isn't he? He can't see us, right? And he certainly can't catch us," Arthur assured him quietly.  
  
    "I-I don't know... I-I don't know if he can't see us... I-I... I don't want to take that chance, Arthur, I don't want to be in here..." Alfred stuttered, his voice barely above a whisper.   
  
    Arthur nodded. "Okay. Then let's go somewhere else. I've seen enough of this room," he said, taking Alfred's hand again and leading him out of the room slowly. Alfred followed quickly and closed the doors to the throne room as they left.   
  
    "So, where to next?" Arthur asked him once they were out into the hallway again.  
  
    "U-um... How about the ballroom...?" Alfred asked him.  
  
    Arthur smiled. "Sure, I'd love to see it!" he replied.  
  
    Alfred's face lit up again. "Okay, then let's go!" he exclaimed, and began running off towards the ballroom.   
  
    Arthur followed him quickly, and within a few minutes, they were standing in front of a pair of incredibly tall and elaborately decorated double doors. The designs on the door seemed to be telling a story of sorts. There were characters, people carved into the door, each of them bearing the Mark of Spades. They were dancing with each other and talking to one another. There were instruments carved into the door, as well as roses and other intricate flowers. It was just like a scene that one might find inside the ballroom if there were people inside of it.   
  
    Arthur admired the artwork that was carved into the doors for a few moments before Alfred pushed them open to reveal the ballroom. The ceiling was so high above them that Arthur could only see it by tilting his head back as far as it would go. There were angels and Aces painted on the ceiling. The walls were painted with an intricate pattern of blue roses and the Mark of Spades. There were blue marble columns all around the room that helped hold the ceiling up. The floor was made out of the same blue marble. A beautiful sapphire chandelier hung from the ceiling to illuminate the room in a soft blue light. It was magical. Arthur had never seen anything like it before.  
  
    "Oh my..." He couldn't think of anything else to say as Alfred pulled him into the room and closed the doors behind them. His eyes darted throughout the room as he tried to take all of it in. It was so big and so beautiful. He had fallen in love with it.   
  
    "It's gorgeous, isn't it?" Alfred asked, grinning.  
  
    "'Gorgeous' doesn't even  _begin_  to describe this room, Alfred... This is the most amazing thing I've ever seen in my life..." Arthur replied in a flabbergasted whisper.   
  
    "I'm so glad you like it," Alfred said, his grin fading into a softer, almost loving smile.   
  
    Arthur finally tore his gaze from the room around him and settled it on Alfred. He couldn't help but notice that Alfred's eyes were popping in the light of the room. They seemed so much bigger and brighter than normal. Arthur had never realized just how blue they were until now.  
  
    "This place must be even more beautiful when there's people inside of it... It must be so alive with the music and the chatter of the people; all the glamorous dresses and the fancy suits and costumes. What are the parties like here, Alfred...? Please tell me about them," Arthur pleaded softly.  
  
    Alfred's smile widened. "Well, I'm sure they'd be a lot more fun for me if Father would ever let me have any fun. Father makes me learn how to dance but I never have anyone to dance with. There's never any girls my age here and Father says it's improper for me to dance with the adults, or with the boys. But it's so much fun to watch the people. The music is always so loud and beautiful, and all the women look so magical in their big and colorful dresses. The parties here are the only time that I ever get to talk to people from outside the castle. I love these parties so much. They're my favorite thing in the whole world," he explained.   
  
    Arthur chuckled softly. "I wish I could be here for one," he said wistfully.  
  
    "Well, who knows? Maybe one day we can sneak you in. My father holds masquerades sometimes. If we could get Yao to help us, you could get in here easily, I bet!" Alfred suggested.  
  
    Arthur's eyes widened a little. "D-do you really think we could make it happen...?" he asked.   
  
    "Of course I do! Sure, you'd have to stay away from my Father, and I might not get to stay with you for the whole night, but you'd have fun anyways, and... A-and then you could see the garden for real! And at night, too!" Alfred exclaimed.   
  
    "Oh, I'd love that so much..." Arthur whispered.  
  
    "Then it's settled!" Alfred declared. "Next time my father holds a masquerade, we're getting you into it!"   
  
    Arthur laughed. "I'm going to have to get myself a costume before then. And some dancing lessons... Can't really show up to a ball if I don't know how to dance, now can I?" he asked.  
  
    "You don't know how to dance...?" Alfred asked, tilting his head.  
  
    Arthur blushed a little. "Well, no... Not ballroom dancing, anyways. I'm pretty good at club dancing, I suppose, but that's not nearly sophisticated enough for a ballroom," he answered.  
  
    "Well, I could teach you how to dance, if you want," Alfred suggested.  
  
    Arthur's eyes widened a little. "Y-you could?"  
  
    "Sure!" Alfred exclaimed. "We could start right now! You'd want to learn how to lead, right?" he asked.  
  
    Arthur blushed a little again. "Um, well, yes. It would be kind of awkward if a man didn't know how to lead, wouldn't it?" he responded.  
  
    Alfred chuckled softly. "I guess you're right. Good thing I know both parts, then," he said, taking Arthur's hand again and bringing him to the center of the floor.   
  
    "Okay, so you hold my left hand with your right," Alfred began, switching the hands that they were currently holding and lacing his fingers with Arthur's, "and then I put my right hand on your shoulder and you put your left hand on my waist." He then took Arthur's left hand and guided it to rest on his own waist. Arthur blushed softly, and Alfred rested his right hand on Arthur's shoulder.  
  
    "Now, you step forward with your left foot and I step back on my right..."  
  
    Alfred taught Arthur how to lead him in a basic waltz, teaching him how to box-step and how to turn and travel around the ballroom. Once Arthur seemed to have the hang of that, Alfred taught Arthur how to twirl him. After that, Alfred taught Arthur how to dip him.  
  
    Unfortunately, the first time they tried it, Arthur wasn't quite prepared. He dipped Alfred just a little too far, a little too fast, and he lost his balance. He dropped Alfred onto the ballroom floor and came crashing down on top of him. The two of them stared at each other in their rather compromising position for a few seconds before Arthur scrambled to his feet, blushing like mad.  
  
    "I-I'm so sorry about that, oh, that was so horrible, I'm so so-"  
  
    Alfred just laughed. "I-it's okay,  you tried your best! C'mon, let's try again!" he said, pushing himself up from the floor and getting to his feet.  
  
    However, upon standing up, he lost his balance suddenly and fell to the floor again. Arthur's eyes widened a little. "A-Alfred, are you okay!?"  
  
    "Y-yeah, I'm fine, I just feel a little dizzy all of a sudden..." Alfred muttered, pushing himself into a sitting position once again and rubbing the back of his neck.  
  
    "Oh, God, is it because I dropped you?? Did you hit your head that hard?? Shit shit shit-"  
  
    Alfred shook his head, but cringed because his head started to hurt. "N-no, it isn't because of you... I-I think the spell is taking up too much of my energy... I-I don't think I can keep it up for much longer..." he said.  
  
    "Wh-what do we do then...? I-if the spell comes undone we'll be caught, won't we?" Arthur asked, his face going a little pale at the thought. He'd almost gotten arrested and executed the last time Alfred's father had seen him... He wouldn't be able to escape it if Alfred's father caught him in the castle.   
  
    "No, I won't let us get caught. I-if we can just get to my bedroom, then I can drop the spell and you can hide there until I have the strength to put it back up again," Alfred assured.   
  
    Arthur nodded, starting to calm down again. "Here, I'll help you walk there. Just tell me where to go," he said, grabbing Alfred's hand and pulling him to his feet gently but hurriedly. He draped Alfred's arm over his shoulder and held it with one hand. He secured his other arm around Alfred's waist.   
  
    Arthur helped Alfred walk out of the ball room, and Alfred told him how to get to the bedroom. Arthur tried to get him there as quickly as possible, but Alfred could feel the weight of the spell crushing down on him and suffocating him. It was a big castle, and unfortunately, Arthur couldn't quite get them to the room in time.  
  
    Just as they entered the hall where the entrance to Alfred's bedroom was, Alfred passed out. Immediately, the aura around the room changed. It no longer felt cold and silent. Arthur knew that the castle was alive once again, and he was dangerously close to getting himself hanged.   
  
    Figuring that the door to Alfred's room was the biggest and most elaborate door in the hall, Arthur quickly carried the unconscious Prince towards it and opened it as fast as he could. Once he had the door open, he ran into the room, shut the door, and locked it behind him. Fortunately, it appeared that he had picked the right room after all. It was a bedroom, for sure, and the miscellaneous objects that made up its decor certainly looked like they would belong to Alfred.   
  
    Arthur breathed a heavy sigh of relief before bringing Alfred over to the bed and laying him down in it. He stared at the Prince's pale face with a worried frown on his own. He didn't know what to do. What  _could_  he do? He didn't know how serious this was, or what had really happened besides the fact that Alfred had apparently passed out from exhaustion. Getting help was not an option. He didn't know how to wake Alfred up himself. The only thing he could do was sit on the bed and wait for Alfred to wake up in his own time.   
  
    Unfortunately, it appeared as though Arthur wouldn't even be able to do that. It seemed like only a few minutes had passed when Arthur started to hear heavy footsteps outside of the room and the doorknob started jiggling violently. Arthur thanked the Elder Aces that he had locked the door as his face paled again and he stood up, frantically searching for a place where he could hide.  
  
    Whoever was trying to get into the room started pounding furiously on the door when they couldn't open it. "Alfred Frederick Jones, open this door right now you ungrateful bastard! If I have to unlock this myself, you won't be allowed in this room for a week! I'll make you sleep in the courtyard!"  
  
    Arthur'd blood ran cold when he heard the sickeningly familiar voice of the King of Spades yelling at Alfred from outside the room. Oh, Aces, Alfred's father was going to come in here and see Alfred passed out on the bed. He was going to know that there was something fishy going on here. What was worse was that Arthur already knew from the King's tone that he was furious with his son. Alfred was going to be punished profusely, and Arthur couldn't do a damn thing about it unless he was willing to get himself killed.  
  
    "Yao, give me the fucking key to this door!"   
  
    "O-of course, Your Majesty..."  
  
    With his heart pounding, Arthur made a split-second decision to run to Alfred's wardrobe and hide inside of it, leaving the door of it cracked open just enough so that he could see the bedroom door from it. The doorknob jiggled again before it was finally able to twist, and the door was pushed open to reveal Alfred's livid father, as well as the worried Jack who was standing behind him. The King glanced at Alfred's bed before stepping further into the room and dragging Yao into it with him.   
  
    "Wake him up, Yao.  _Now,_ " he commanded.  
  
    "Y-yes, of course, sir..." Yao said calmly, and walked over to the bed.   
  
    He sat beside Alfred and pulled the sleeping Prince into a sitting position. He then trailed one of his hands up and down the boy's back before pressing hard on a particular spot that made Alfred jolt awake. His eyes darted around frantically. He was looking for Arthur, but the Hearts boy was nowhere in Alfred's sight. When he noticed that both Yao and the King were in his room, his stomach dropped. He felt almost as if he were going to start having a panic attack. He knew that he had fucked up big time, and that he was about to be punished for it.  
  
    "Y-Yao, Father, what are you two doing here...?" he asked, staying as calm as he could on the outside so that his father couldn't see how terrified he was on the inside.   
  
    Immediately, Alfred's father grabbed Alfred's arm roughly and pulled him up from the bed. "Don't act innocent, you little bastard. Don't think that I don't know you were using your powers without my permission. You weren't anywhere near me and yet I became frozen in time! Why the hell were you freezing time for me!?" he demanded.  
  
    "I-I...- I-I was just-" Alfred stuttered, his mind racing as he tried to come up with a proper excuse that he could use to get his father off of his case, but it wasn't going to be easy, and the increasingly painful grip his father had on his arm was not helping matters at all.   
  
    "Answer me, boy!" the King shouted, shaking Alfred roughly.   
  
    "I-I was just trying to practice my powers, F-Father..." Alfred answered, averting his eyes.   
  
    The King used his free hand to grab a fistful of Alfred's hair and pulled it back to force his head to tilt back. "Look at me when I'm talking to you, you disrespectful bastard. You know you aren't supposed to practice your powers without supervision. Did you really think I wouldn't find out?" he hissed.   
  
    Alfred whimpered helplessly and looked at his father again. "I-I, n-no, of course not- I-I just wanted to see how much of the castle I could control... J-just so that I could show you how strong I've gotten... I-I'm sorry..." he said.   
  
    "How much of the castle did you stop in time?" his father asked.  
  
    "A-All of it... E-even outside... A-as far as the grounds go..." Alfred answered. It was the one truth he could tell.  
  
    "How long did you hold it for?" his father asked.  
  
    "I-I don't know..." Alfred answered. It was yet another truth. Since time had stopped, there was really know way of telling just how long he had stopped it for. It had felt like quite a while to him, though. He didn't tell his father that. "P-probably not very long... Th-that's probably why I passed out, because I was trying to hold it for longer than I could..."   
  
    A low growl escaped from the King's throat before he let go of both Alfred's arm and his hair. The release was so sudden that Alfred lost his balance and fell to the floor. He stared up at his father and his father continued to stare down at him.  
  
    "The next time I find out you've been using your powers without my permission, you will be  _severely_  punished. Do you understand me?" the King questioned.  
  
    Alfred nodded hurriedly. "Y-yes sir, I-I understand," he said quietly.   
  
    "Good. Now come, Yao. We've work to do," the King urged, beckoning for his Jack to stand up from Alfred's bed.   
  
    Yao did as he was told, and he and the King began to exit the room. However, they were stopped by a guard who had suddenly come into the room with a panicked look on his face. "Oh, thank the Aces I found you, Your Majesty! S-something's happened, we need your help immediately!" the guard exclaimed.  
  
    The King raised an eyebrow. "What's happened? Hurry and spit it out!" he urged.   
  
    "The Head Guard says that he got an alert that the gates had been opened without authorization. It says they were opened at 9:50 this morning and that they were closed the same minute, but the gatekeeper swears up and down that the gates weren't open. We're scanning the perimeter for intruders right now just to be on the safe side, but we might just have a bug in the system... We don't know what's going on," the guard explained.   
  
    Alfred's blood ran cold as the King turned on his heels and began walking back towards Alfred. He reached down and grabbed Alfred by the collar of his shirt, lifting him off of the ground quickly and roughly and holding him with his feet unable to touch the ground. Alfred gasped softly as the back of his collar began to dig into his neck, making it hard for him to breathe.   
  
    "You opened the gates, didn't you, you treacherous little bitch!?" the King snarled.   
  
    When Alfred didn't answer, the King slammed him against the wall by the door and held him there, still suspended above the floor. "Answer me!" he demanded.   
  
    Alfred still didn't answer, so the King let go of Alfred's collar with one hand and grabbed a fistful of Alfred's hair again. He pulled Alfred's head forward and slammed it against the wall again, which made Alfred gasp in pain. He had to fight back tears as they began to well up in his eyes and threatened to spill from them.  
  
    "I'm going to give you one last chance to answer me before I start to pull your hair out," the King whispered.   
  
    "I-I did it, I-I opened the gates-" Alfred choked out.  
  
    In the span of three seconds, Alfred felt his father's hand removed from his hair, and a sharp blow was delivered to his face. Alfred's head snapped to the side as his father slapped him and he let out a yelp of pain. "What the fuck did you open the gates for, you ungrateful cunt!? You went outside, didn't you!? You deceitful little bastard!" his father screamed.  
  
    Alfred had finally started crying by now. He was on the verge of sobbing. "I-I'm sorry!" was all he could think of to say.   
  
    The King dropped Alfred to the ground again and used his foot to push Alfred onto his stomach. He kept Alfred on the ground by using one foot to step on his back firmly. "What the fuck were you thinking!? What  _stupid, pathetic_  part of you thought that you could get away with this!? I have given you  _everything!_  A roof over your head, food, clothing, the means to keep yourself clean! I provide you with healing for your ills! I give you an education so that you're smarter than the runts who live in the villages! I continue to teach you despite how you've proved to me time and time again how much of a failure you are! All I ask of you is that you respect and obey me, and you can't even do  _that!?_ " he roared.  
  
    Alfred was sobbing by this point. He could do nothing but cry "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" over and over again until his voice was hoarse. It seemed like hours had passed before his father decided to relent.  
  
    "You've proved to me today that you cannot be trusted to be left to your own devices. From now on, you will be under Yao's constant supervision. All of your decisions will be made by him, including what you wear, what you eat, and what you spend your free time with. You will no longer be allowed to stay in this room. You shall have one of the guest chambers prepared for you. And if you try to find some way to sneak around this, it will be your deepest regret," his father hissed.   
  
    He removed his foot from Alfred's back and began walking away from the shaking and sobbing Prince who was still laying on the floor. "You are to stay here and you are not to touch anything until Yao tells you to do so. Yao, you are to prepare a guest room for my son, and then you are to report to me so that you may learn of the new password to the gate lock. You will not repeat it to anyone, least of all my son. Understand?" he inquired.  
  
    Alfred said nothing. Yao simply nodded his head. Satisfied, the King left Alfred's bedroom, and was quickly followed by the guard and the Jack. Yao shut the door behind him as he left.   
  
    Meanwhile, Arthur still stood inside of the wardrobe. He was completely and utterly horrified at what he had just witnessed. The crack through which he was looking only provided so much vision, but he was able to see everything that had happened by the door, and he had heard every word that had been said. Every dirty insult thrown by the King. Alfred's helpless cries and whimpers and mutters. The sounds of Alfred being tossed around and beaten. It had made Arthur physically sick.   
  
    He had wanted so badly to jump out of the wardrobe and defend Alfred; to save him from the words that his father had shouted at him and the physical pain that was being dealt to him. He had wanted to attack the King, to strangle the man with his bare hands. There was no one in the world that Arthur hated more than the King of Spades.   
  
    But he couldn't move. Not only would he have gotten himself killed if he had revealed himself, but he would have made things worse for Alfred, too. If the King had gotten this mad at his son for practicing magic without permission and opening the castle gates, Arthur couldn't even imagine what would have happened if the King had known that it was all so that Arthur could sneak into the castle. He wouldn't have wanted to imagine it even if he could have.   
  
    Once Arthur heard the door to Alfred's room close, he burst out of the wardrobe and ran to Alfred's side. He knelt beside the other and carefully pulled the sobbing Prince into a sitting position. His eyes scanned Alfred's body frantically, looking for injuries. Hardly any of the wounds were visible, since Alfred's clothes covered nearly every part of his body, but Arthur was sure there were terrible bruises beneath the layers he was wearing. There was a very visible hand print on his face, too.   
  
    "O-oh my Aces, Alfred, a-are you okay!? S-say something to me, please...! Tell me how I can help!" Arthur pleaded.  
  
    Alfred stared at him with wide eyes and tried to stop himself from crying. "A-Arthur wh-what're you-ou doin' he-ere...? Y-Y'can't be h-here, m'Father'll-"   
  
    "Shh, sh, Alfred, don't worry about me. Your Father isn't here right now. And he's not coming back for a while. It's Yao who was put in charge of you, right? Surely he can help us," Arthur assured, rubbing Alfred's shoulders gently to try and help him calm down.   
  
    "N-no, A-Arthur, he won't help us! I-I didn't tell him you were coming so he doesn't know! If he finds out I brought you here without telling him, h-he'll tell my father for sure!"  Alfred shouted. His breaths started to become quicker, heavier, and shallower. He looked like he was going to have a panic attack.  
  
    Arthur quickly pulled Alfred into a tight hug. With one hand, he rubbed Alfred's back gently, and with the other, he ran his fingers through Alfred's hair "Hey, hey, Alfred, it's going to be alright. Try to calm down, please. We won't be able to figure anything out if you're panicking so much," he whispered softly.   
  
    "I-I'm so sorry about a-all of this, Arthur...! Th-this is all my fault! I-I never should have let you come here, o-or I should have waited until I was stronger! I-I'm so fucking useless! I-I put you in danger and I didn't think this through at all and I-"  
  
    Arthur pulled away from Alfred and held onto Alfred's shoulder's gently but firmly, staring him straight in the eyes. "You stop that right now, Alfred. That's not you speaking. That's your father," he said seriously.  
  
    "Wh-what...?" Alfred asked softly, staring right back at Arthur, his eyes wide again.  
  
    "You don't need to apologize for anything. This isn't your fault. I'm not hurt. I'm not going to get hurt. And even if I do, it wouldn't be because of you. Honestly, I don't know a damn thing about how your magic works. I'd never seen you do it before. I had no proof that you really could do it. But I trusted you. I  _believed_  in you, and I came to see you today of my own free will even though I knew it would be dangerous. We're  _both_  responsible for this, and you shouldn't have to beat yourself up over it. Do you understand?" Arthur asked.  
  
    "But..."  
  
    "No buts. You are  _not_  useless, Alfred. And you're not selfish, or ungrateful, or treacherous, or any of the awful words that your father called you. That man is an abusive shitbag who doesn't deserve to be able to call you his son. I know there's nothing that you can do to fight him right now, but at the very least, please,  _please_  believe me when I tell you that he is  _wrong,_ " Arthur told him.   
  
    "H-how can I believe that he's wrong...? H-he's my  _father..._  He's always right..." Alfred muttered.  
  
    Arthur was so frustrated that he started to tear up. He couldn't believe how horrible Alfred's father really was. He couldn't believe that that man had ruined Alfred's spirit so much that he believed every word that his father said. If this kept up, who knew how long it would be before Alfred lost himself completely? Before he stopped rebelling against his father? Before he became the emotionless robot that his father seemed to want him to be? What if things got so bad that-... Well, Arthur didn't want to think about that.  
  
    "Alfred, listen to me, please..." Arthur begged, his voice cracking a little. "You are so,  _so_  amazing. You're the kindest, funniest, cleverest, and most creative person that I've ever known! Everything about you is beautiful! You don't deserve to be treated the way that your father treats you! If I could, I'd take you home with me, and my family would show you what it means to be loved! You're the best thing that's ever happened to me, Alfred! I won't let you lose yourself to him!"  
  
    Silence passed between the two of them as Alfred continued to stare at Arthur in shock. Arthur tried so hard to make his eyes stop watering. Alfred was finally starting to stop crying. For a moment, it almost seemed as though time had stopped again.   
  
    "You really think all those things of me...?" Alfred asked, his voice barely audible. His visage made it look like he had never been called any of those things before. It broke Arthur's heart.  
  
    "Of course I do, Alfred... I wouldn't lie to you..." Arthur said, letting go of one of Alfred's shoulders and reaching his hand up to caress Alfred's face lightly.   
  
    Alfred started crying again and hugged Arthur tightly, burying his face into the crook of Arthur's neck. "Thank you so much, Arthur..." he whispered.  
  
    Arthur smiled faintly and ran his fingers through Alfred's hair again. "You're welcome, Alfred," he said.   
  
    Not a minute had passed before the doorknob started jiggling again and was twisted, and the door was pushed open. Arthur had no time to hide. Both he and Alfred stared at the door with pale faces and expressions of pure terror. Both of them were so sure that this was game over for them.  
  
    When Yao came into the room, and saw Arthur on the floor with Alfred, he gasped loudly. He quickly shut and locked the door to Alfred's room and stepped towards them. His expression was on of anger, but his eyes showed the same fear as Alfred's and Arthur's.   
  
    "What the hell is he doing here, Alfred!? How did he get here!? What's going on!?" Yao demanded hurriedly.  
  
    "P-please, Yao, let me explain!" Alfred begged, pulling away from Arthur and crawling in front of him, as if he were trying to protect the Hearts boy from Yao.  
  
    "You better damn well explain, you ass! You're lucky I won't tell your father about this!" Yao hissed.  
  
    "I-I just wanted to see Arthur again, I haven't seen him since we went to Burlone and that was  _months_  ago! I thought that I could use my powers to help us see each other again, I-I didn't know I wouldn't be strong enough...! Th-that's why I stopped time and why I opened the gates, so that I could get Arthur in here...!" Alfred told him.   
  
    Yao sighed heavily and dragged his hand down his face. "Alfred, if you wanted to see Arthur again then you should have asked me for help... You could have spared yourself a beating from your father," he said.  
  
    "I'm sorry... I didn't want to bother you... I-I thought I could do it by myself..." Alfred mumbled.  
  
    "This is a lot bigger than you seem to think it is, Alfred. Not only are you putting yourself on the line, but you're putting Arthur on it, too. Arthur isn't your plaything. He's a person from another country that has a family and friends and a life of his own. You can't put him in danger for your own sake, do you understand?" Yao asked.   
  
    Alfred looked mortified. "I-I don't think of Arthur as my plaything, Yao! I-I didn't mean to get in trouble, I-I'd never want to put Arthur in danger!" he protested.   
  
    "Then you need to stop acting so proud. It's bad enough already that you have to sneak around your father to see Arthur. I understand that there isn't another way, but  _you_  need to understand that you need to be smart about this. From now on, I don't want you trying to plan anything without me, okay?" Yao said.   
  
    "It's not like I can, since I'm not allowed out of your sight for who knows how long," Alfred murmured.   
  
    Yao sighed again. "Look, Alfred, we need to get you out of this room, and we need to get Arthur out of the castle. Alfred, you are to go to the guest room that is across the hall from my room, immediately. I'm going to help Arthur get out of the castle undetected," he instructed.   
  
    "Wh-what? But I wanna help you guys!" Alfred argued.   
  
    "You've done enough damage for today, Alfred. Now do as I say before I decide to tell your father what's really going on," Yao dismissed.   
  
    Alfred's face fell and he averted his eyes. "Y-yes sir..." he muttered, standing up.  
  
    "W-wait, Alfred, let me say goodbye first," Arthur called, also standing up. He quickly pulled Alfred into one more tight hug, and Alfred hugged him back.  
  
    "Be safe, okay?" Alfred urged.  
  
    "I will be," Arthur promised.   
  
    "I'll miss you," Alfred said.  
  
    "I'll miss you too. But we'll see each other again. I promise," Arthur said.   
  
    Yao stood up and walked over to the door. He unlocked it and looked at Alfred and Arthur. "Alright, come on you two, let's get going. Alfred, you leave first," he urged.  
  
    "Right..." Alfred said, nodding. He pulled away from Arthur and walked to the door. He opened it slightly, slipped through it, and shut it behind him.  
  
    A few minutes passed before Yao opened the door again and ushered Arthur outside. "Stay behind me. Follow me exactly. Don't make a sound. Understand?" he asked seriously. Arthur nodded quickly.  
  
    Yao led Arthur down into the deepest parts of the castle as quickly and stealthily as possible. Arthur followed him without question, though he couldn't help but feel uneasy when he realized that their path would be taking him to the castle's dungeon. He had no choice but to trust Yao, but who was to say that he really could? For all he knew, Yao could be lying to both him and Alfred and could hate him as much as the King did. How could going to the dungeon possibly get Arthur out of the castle?   
  
    "We're almost there now," Yao whispered as the two of them made it down the stairs and into the first room of the dungeon.   
  
    It was an eerie place, to say the least. Arthur had never been inside a dungeon before. It was dark, dank, and dirty. The only light came from a few torch sconces hung on the walls between the cells. The sight of the cells built next to each other on either side of him made him shiver. There didn't appear to be any prisoners being kept here at the moment, but that didn't make it any less terrifying.   
  
    Yao led Arthur to the very back of the dungeon, and stopped when they came to the back wall. "Here we are," Yao said, staring at the wall.  
  
    Arthur cleared his throat nervously. "Um, I know I'm not supposed to be speaking right now, but how exactly am I supposed to get out of the castle from here...?" he asked quietly.  
  
    "Like this," Yao said simply, and Arthur watched as he began tapping on various bricks in the wall, tapping out a complicated pattern that, when completed, made a section of the wall sink into the ground to reveal a secret passageway within the dungeon.   
  
    "This passageway has been here since the castle was built. Very few people know about it. It's supposed to be an escape for the King if the castle ever comes under siege. There aren't any alerts that trip when it's opened, though, so I figured this would be the best way to get you out of the castle," Yao said as Arthur stared into the passageway with awe.   
  
    "Where does it lead out to...?" Arthur asked in amazement.   
  
    "It leads to the forest right outside the castle grounds," Yao answered.   
  
    Arthur smiled faintly. "Perfect. That's where I hid my bike," he said.   
  
    "Good. Now hurry and go before the King realizes I am not supervising Alfred," Yao urged.  
  
    Arthur nodded, and begin to walk into the passageway, but stopped and turned to look at Yao before he went. "Please be kind to Alfred, my Lord. Don't be too harsh on him. He's a good lad, really. He doesn't deserve to be treated the way that he is," he said seriously.  
  
    Yao sighed softly. "I know. I am trying my best to protect him, but I can't speak out against the King. I'll be punished if I do, and if I can't be here for Alfred because the King's done away with me, things will be a lot worse for him," he said.  
  
    "Please try to keep him happy. I have a feeling that I won't be able to see him for a while. Praise him for me. Make sure he doesn't lose himself in the King's words," Arthur pleaded.   
  
    "I'll do my best, and I'll do my best to make sure that you get to see him again soon," Yao promised.  
  
    Satisfied, Arthur nodded subtly before dashing off down the passageway. Yao closed the passageway once he couldn't see Arthur anymore. It was pitch black inside the passageway with the entrance closed, but the walls were narrow enough for Arthur to be able to touch both of them by stretching his arms out to his sides. He let the walls guide him out of the passageway.   
  
    When he reached the end of the passage, he found that it was a dead end. He would have been trapped there if it wasn't for the small light that was shining through the ceiling of the passageway. He looked up to see a square-shaped wooden hatch, and the light was seeping in through a hole in it. He reached up and pushed the hatch open. He grabbed onto the ledge of the now open hatch and pulled himself up out of the passageway.   
  
    He found himself in the middle of a lush forest, just as Yao had said. The hatch was hidden by a fake tree stump that was built onto it, which was now turned on its side, as the hatch was still open. Arthur quickly pushed the stump down and closed the hatch. When he looked at the stump, he could hardly tell that there was a doorway to a hidden passage hiding beneath it.   
  
    Arthur didn't exactly know where he was supposed to go from there, but he started running in the direction which he believed the edge of the forest to be in. Fortunately, his sense of direction had been right. It didn't take him long to recover his bike and get out of the forest. Once he was on the road again, he mounted his bike and started it up. He then began the long journey back to his own village.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> shit how long's it been since I've updated this  
> like a month or something  
> sorry about that, guys! APH France Week took up all of my writing mojo and I've only recently got it back! I hope this chapter was worth the wait, though!


	7. Cleaning Up the Mess

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the aftermath of the disaster caused by Alfred's powers failing, Yao helps to patch Alfred up and remind him that he's not alone.

 

_"Experience is simply the name we give our mistakes." - Oscar Wilde_

\---

  
    It was about half an hour after Alfred had been sent to the guest bedroom across the hall from Yao's room before Yao finally came back to see him, though Alfred hadn't really noticed how much time had passed. Why should he care, after all? He'd just had all of his freedom taken away from him. Who cared how much time he had if he couldn't spend it the way he wanted to?  
  
    Furthermore, his body was still aching all over. His head hurt. His arms were sore. He could still feel the sensation of his collar digging into the back of his neck. His stomach hurt. His back hurt like hell. To be quite honest, Alfred wouldn't have had a problem if he had just dropped dead right that moment.   
  
    The worst part of it all, though, was Arthur. Despite what the Hearts boy had said to him earlier in hopes of making him feel better about all that had happened, Alfred didn't really believe any of it. He knew this was his fault and no one else's. This had been  _his_  plan. He had  _endangered_  Arthur, as well as himself. Now, he probably wouldn't even be able to see or even keep contact with Arthur for who knew how long?   
  
    Today had started out as the best day of Alfred's life. He and Arthur were having such fun together. He had never meant for it to go so wrong. He had never meant for any of this to happen. He wished to the Elder Aces that he could take it all back. Unfortunately, life just didn't work that way.  
  
    When Yao came into the room, Alfred was curled up in the far left corner. He wasn't even in the bed. He was just sitting with his back in the corner, his knees pulled up to his chest, and his face buried in them. It was quite pathetic looking, and it only made Yao feel more pity for the boy.  
  
    Alfred heard the door of the room open, but didn't look up to see who had entered. Even when Yao breathed a heavy sigh and shut the door, Alfred still didn't look up. Yao frowned and walked over to the bed. He sat on it and stared at Alfred.  
  
    "Alfred, stop looking like that. Sit up straight and look at me, please," Yao instructed.   
  
    Hesitantly, Alfred lifted his head from his knees and stared at Yao. His eyes were still red and puffy from crying earlier. Yao could have sworn that the boy's eyes were still watering. He was an absolute mess.  
  
    "Thank you. Now, stand up and come here, please," Yao instructed again.   
  
    Slowly, Alfred did as he was told. He pushed himself into a standing position, wincing as he did so, and walked towards Yao until he was standing right in front of the Jack. Yao nodded in acknowledgement before speaking again.  
  
    "Take your shirt off. I want to see the extent of the damage your father did," Yao said.   
  
    Alfred hesitated for a moment before nodding and removing his shirt. Once he had gotten it off, he tossed it onto the bed and let his arms fall to his sides. He stared at Yao, waiting for him to asses the damage.   
  
    Yao stood up from the bed and placed his hands gently on Alfred's shoulders. He examined the hand print shaped bruises on Alfred's arms before turning him around to examine his back, and the imprint that his collar had left in his neck. Yao frowned, seeing just how many bruises were left behind the King's tirade. The worst part of it was that Yao couldn't really do anything about them. He wasn't a healer. The best he could do was give Alfred some painkillers to help with the soreness.   
  
    "At least it's not as bad as the last time he got that angry at me," Alfred mumbled after hearing Yao sigh again.   
  
    Yao sat back down on the bed and gave Alfred his shirt back. "I know. But that doesn't make it okay," he said, his face wearing a grim expression.  
  
    Alfred shrugged faintly and took his shirt from Yao. "Well, we can't do anything about it. He'd my Father, and he's the King. What he says goes. I deserve it, anyways," he said as he pulled his shirt back on.   
  
    "You don't- You don't deserve it, Alfred. But you're right. We can't do anything about it. That's why I try so hard to tell you what to do to keep him happy," Yao said, frowning.   
  
    "But you don't understand me, Yao. My father loves you. He'd rather call you his son than me. He'd rather have you be the heir to the Kingdom than me. And maybe I'll give him what he wants," Alfred said.  
  
    "What nonsense are you spouting now, boy?" Yao asked, furrowing his brows.   
  
    "I can't keep acting like I'm some perfect Prince when I'm not, Yao. It doesn't matter what I do, my father's always going to hate it. The only way he'll ever love me is if I'm perfect, and I'm just not. I never have been and I never will be. Everything I ever say or do disappoints him. It doesn't matter if I'm being good and listening to him, he'll still hate me because I'm not being  _perfect._  And I can't run a Kingdom if I'm not perfect. But you're perfect, so you can do it," Alfred explained.   
  
    Yao stared at him for a moment before chuckling softly and shaking his head wryly. "Oh, my boy, I'm far from perfect. Nobody's perfect, Alfred. Not you, not me, and certainly not your father. This Kingdom may be his now, but it  _will_  be yours when you're old enough. And you're going to be a much better King than your father is. I'm sure of it," he said.  
  
    Alfred sighed and averted his eyes. "Yao, can I ask you a question?" he asked softly.  
  
    "Of course you can, Alfred. What is it?" Yao replied.   
  
    "Why are you so nice to me? Why don't you treat me like my father does? Why do you care for me and teach me and why are you patient with me and why do you praise me? Why do you help me with Arthur? I used to think that you didn't like me, or that at least you were indifferent towards me, but lately you've just been so different... I don't understand it..." Alfred admitted.  
  
    Yao pursed his lips for a moment, trying to think of a way to answer the question that had been posed to him. "I... Alfred, when you were younger, you had your mother to look after you and love you. During that time, it wasn't my place to teach you and be there for you and take care of you. Your father wasn't as cruel then, either.  
  
    "It's been a little more than two years since your mother died, and I've seen your father become more and more cruel to you with each passing day. I didn't step in until I saw him beating you for the first time. I knew I had to protect you from him somehow, but I also knew that I couldn't speak out against him, or I'd be removed from my position and you wouldn't have anyone.   
  
    "I suppose, for a long time, I was trying to act neutral towards you so that your father didn't suspect that I was becoming too close to you. I needed him to know that he could trust me more than he could trust anyone else. But lately, Alfred, I've come to realize that now, more than ever, you need someone that you can trust more than your father does. That's why I've been so kind to you lately. Arthur told me to make sure that you didn't lose yourself in your father's words. I intend on honoring his wishes, and I have intended that for quite sometime."   
  
    Alfred was a bit taken aback by what Yao had said to him. He hadn't expected an explanation like that. The only answer that his own mind could form for Yao's behavior towards him these past few months was that Yao felt pity for him, and nothing else. But no, Yao really _cared_  about him...? Wanted to keep him  _safe...?_  Wanted Alfred to be able to  _trust_  him...? How could something like this be possible.   
  
    "I-I don't... Y-Yao, I don't understand..." he mumbled, not knowing what else to say.  
  
    Yao sighed, a bit sadly. "I don't expect you to understand, Alfred. Your father's made it so that you can't fathom things like this, like people caring about you. But I do, Alfred. I do care about you. And Arthur does, too. And that's all you need to know," he said.  
  
    "I... Yeah, I guess... If you say so..." Alfred muttered.  
  
    "Are you still sore, Alfred? Do you want me to go get you some painkillers?" Yao asked, feeling as if there was nothing left to be said and deciding to change the subject.  
  
    Alfred nodded slowly. "Y-yeah, that would be great..." he said.  
  
    Yao nodded and stood up from the bed. "I'll be right back. Stay here," he said.  
  
    "Where else would I go?" Alfred asked, somewhat bitterly, as he climbed into the bed. "I can't be seen anywhere else without your supervision or I'll get my ass beaten."  
  
    Yao let out an exasperated huff. "Listen, I don't like this situation any more than you do, boy. But you having that kind of attitude won't make it go by and faster. There's no need for impolite speech," he scolded.  
  
    "You call me an ass all the time. If my father's not around, why can't I say it too? I'm sixteen, for Ace's sake," Alfred protested.  
  
    Yao sighed again and shook his head. "Honestly, Alfred, you really are an ass sometimes... Just behave yourself, alright? This will go by a lot quicker if you do," he said, walking to the door and grabbing the doorknob.   
  
    "Yeah, yeah, okay. Whatever you say," Alfred said, also sounding exasperated.  
  
    Satisfied, Yao twisted the doorknob, pushed the door open, and left the room.   
  
    Fifteen minutes later, Alfred was still sitting exactly where he had been when Yao had left, and Yao had entered the room once again. When Yao returned, he was carrying a bottle of painkillers and a glass of water in the same hand, somehow expertly balancing them so that they wouldn't fall. After he had closed the door, he picked up the bottle of painkillers with his now free hand and brought both the painkillers and the water over to the bed. He handed both of them to Alfred.  
  
    "Thanks, Yao," Alfred said, taking the glass and the bottle from him and setting them down on the nightstand beside the bed.  
  
    "Of course," Yao replied, watching as Alfred opened the bottle of painkillers, took two pills out, and downed them with the glass of water.   
  
    "Is there anything else I can get you?" Yao asked.  
  
    Alfred shrugged. "Nothing that isn't going to get me in trouble," he answered.  
  
    "What's that supposed to mean?" Yao asked.  
  
    "I dunno. I'm sure my father doesn't want me watching movies or being on a computer or something like that. Which also means I'm not gonna be able to talk to Arthur for who knows how long," Alfred mumbled.  
  
    "Alfred, there are other ways of contacting people besides email, and there are other ways to entertain yourself besides being on a computer. I'll bring you some books and some paper and pencils, and you can read and draw and write letters to Arthur. I'll send them for you, alright?" Yao suggested.  
  
    Alfred's eyes lit up. "Really!? I can still write letters to him!?" he asked eagerly.  
  
    "I know you'd go insane if I didn't let you keep in contact with him somehow, so yes, you can," Yao replied simply.  
  
    "Thank you so much, Yao!! You're the best!" Alfred exclaimed, grinning broadly.  
  
    Yao chuckled softly. "Oh, I know I am, my boy. I'll be right back again, alright? Stay put," he said.  
  
    Alfred rolled his eyes playfully. "Yeah, okay, I'll be right here," he said, and Yao left the room again.  
  
    Of course, Yao couldn't carry everything that he wanted to bring to Alfred at once, so he did it in trips. It took him three trips for Yao to bring Alfred all of the books, paper, and pencils that he wanted to give to Alfred. He set them in piles on the floor beside the bed.   
  
    "There, I think that should be enough to entertain you for now," he said, looking at Alfred.  
  
    "Thanks, Yao!" Alfred said, smiling.  
  
    "You're welcome. Now, I have some work to attend to elsewhere. I'll come check on you again in about an hour. Is there anything else you need before I leave?" Yao asked.  
  
    "Well, uh, I do have one more question, but it's not super important," Alfred said, leaning over the side of the bed to grab one of the books that Yao had brought.  
  
    "Oh, just hurry up and ask it, Alfred," Yao urged.  
  
    "I just wanted to know when the next Masquerade we're having is going to be," Alfred said nonchalantly.  
  
    "In two months, I believe. Your father always holds one for All Hallow's Eve, remember? Why do you ask?" Yao responded.  
  
    "Well, it's just that I told Arthur I'd ask you to help us find some way to sneak him into the next one... He really wanted to see what a party was like here, and I figured, if it was a masquerade ball, Father would never find out. He doesn't monitor all of the guests, anyways..." Alfred said quietly.  
  
    Yao was silent in thought for a moment before answering. "Well... If we have two months to prepare, then I'm sure we can work something out. You just better make sure you're careful about it. You can't be spending the whole night with him, and you better make sure your father stays as far away from him as possible," he said.  
  
    "Yeah, yeah, I know! We already discussed all of this earlier!" Alfred exclaimed.  
  
    Yao sighed softly, but smiled faintly. "I swear, you're going to be the death of me, Alfred," he said.  
  
    Rather than taking the comment as a joke like Yao had thought he would, Alfred's face fell. He seemed to look almost terrified of what Yao had suggested. "D-don't say that, Yao," he whispered.  
  
    Yao frowned, realizing that what he had said made Alfred uncomfortable. He should have known that the boy was too sensitive for jokes of that sort. "I apologize, Alfred. That was a bad joke for me to make. I didn't mean anything by it," he said.  
  
    Alfred forced a wry smile and quickly looked down at his book, opening it. "Y-yeah, right. No, it's okay. I-I knew it was a joke. Um, you can leave now, I guess. Thanks for the books and everything else," he said.   
  
    "I... Alright. I'll be back to check on you in an hour, alright?" Yao said.  
  
    "Yeah, okay. See you in an hour," Alfred said. With that, Yao left the room once again.  
  
    Alfred read the book he had picked up for about twenty minutes before deciding that he was bored with it and putting it away. He also decided that he might as well have a letter sent to Arthur as quickly as possible, so he should write one before Yao came back again. That way, the next time Yao left, he could take the letter with him and send it to Arthur.  
  
    He leaned over the side of the bed again and grabbed a piece of paper from one of the piles. He also grabbed a pencil, and sat up straight again. He set the book he had been reading in his lap and placed the piece of paper on top of it so that he could have a hard surface to write on.  
  
     _Arthur,_  
  
    _I don't know if you remember my handwriting or not, but this is Alfred. My Father was really serious about the whole "Yao is in charge of you and makes all of your decisions for you from now on" thing, so I'm not supposed to use my computer or anything else, since I don't have them in my new room and Yao isn't supposed to give them to me... But Yao said that I could write letters to you and he'd send them to you! So at least we can still keep in touch!_  
  
_I don't really know how long this is going to go on for, but I'm assuming it's gonna be a while. Which means we probably won't get to see each other again for a while. But Yao said that the next time we're having a Masquerade is in two months, for All Hallow's Eve! So, if we start planning now, then we can definitely get you in! That's great, right!?_  
  
_Sorry for the inconvenience of having to send letters again, but at least it's better than not talking at all, right? I hope you got back home safe after our fiasco. I hope Yao was kind to you, too. I can't wait to see you again._  
  
_-Alfred_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I should have updated this two weeks ago lmao I'm so sorry for the wait, school's been kicking my ass and I haven't had the motivation for this. But I think I'm okay now. Also I apologize if there are any typos or other mistakes in this chapter, I'm extremely tired and may not have proofread it all the way. I hope it's alright.


	8. The Pig Rock

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> During an outing with his friends from Shale, Arthur is forced to give up his secret of keeping in contact with Alfred to them. After being sworn to secrecy, they promise to help Arthur find a way to get a suit for the Spades Kingdom's All Hallow's Eve masquerade.

_"But then it occurred to him that any progress he had made on his quest so far he had made by accepting the help that had been offered to him."  
-Neil Gaiman,  **Stardust**_

_**\---** _

  
    Arthur sat on top of the small set of steps that led up to the porch of Shale Tavern, looking around the city street in front of him, squinting to keep the sun out of his eyes. It was a surprisingly bright day today, considering that Shale was mostly cloudy during autumn. It was rare to have a day full of sunshine during these months. Still, it was a great day to spend some time with a few mates, which was exactly what he had planned. He just had to wait for them to meet up with him.   
  
    There were five of them in all in their little gang. It was Arthur, Alistair, Dylan, Aidan, and Liam. The five of them were as close as brothers (though Aidan and Liam actually  _were_  brothers. Identical twins, in fact). They did almost everything together. Of course, it wasn't all buddy-buddy all the time. There were a lot of little skirmishes between them, a lot of careless banter and there had even been some fist fights every now and then. Despite their arguments, they were always there for each other in the end, and that was all that mattered.   
  
    Arthur glanced towards the clock tower that was in the middle of the Town Square. The time was almost half past one in the afternoon. Everyone should have been here almost twenty minutes ago. Arthur was growing rather impatient from having to wait for them. He wondered what on earth all of them could be up to, that not even  _one_  of them could have met him on time.   
  
    Finally, right as the clock tower hit the mark for 1:30 PM, Arthur heard one of his friends calling for him. "Oi! Arthur! Over here!"   
  
    Arthur looked towards where the voice was coming from. Sure enough, he saw a tall and muscular boy waving to him and beginning to walk towards him. Deep red hair and swampy green eyes. It was Alistair.   
  
    Arthur stood up quickly and jumped down from the steps that he had been sitting on. "Oi, there you are, you bastard! The fuck took you so long? You're almost half an hour late!" he shouted, walking towards the other boy. His tone sounded angry, but he wore a playful smirk on his face.   
  
    "Well  _excuse me_  for having some yard work mum wanted me to finish, you twat," Alistair told him, standing still and crossing his arms.   
  
    "I ought to mess you up a bit for making me wait, mate, but since it was for your mum I suppose I'll let it slide," Arthur said, laughing.  
  
    "So are the others not here yet either, then?" Alistair asked, looking around to see that their other gang mates were nowhere to be found at the moment.  
  
    Arthur shook his head. "Nope. All of you are bloody late. I'm ashamed of you," he said, clucking his tongue disdainfully.   
  
    Alistair chuckled softly. "Wonder what excuses the other lads'll have for us, eh?" he said.  
  
    "Well, I'm certain that none of them are as excusable as yours," Arthur said.   
  
    "I'm sure we'll see about that," Alistair said.   
  
    It was a few minutes before the next member arrived. This time, it was Dylan. He was a pale and rather scrawny boy with auburn hair and an eye color that was a weird mixture of yellow and grey. He didn't bother to greet his friends until he was standing right behind Alistair.  
  
    "Hey, guys! Sorry I'm late. Woke up late and had some other stuff to do before coming out here," he said.   
  
    Alistair stepped aside so that Arthur could see Dylan. Arthur crossed his arms and stared at Dylan evenly. "Is that right...?" he asked.  
  
    "Uh, yeah? Why the fuck else would I say it?" Dylan replied.  
  
    Arthur shrugged. "Dunno. Just wanting to make sure I don't have to pound you for anything, s'all," he said.  
  
    Dylan rolled his eyes. "Yeah, like  _you_  could pound  _me._  Do I have to remind you I'm a lot stronger than I look, mate?" he inquired.  
  
    "Mm, I don't think that will be necessary today, Dylan. But we'll see," Arthur answered.   
  
    "Are the twins still not here yet, then?" Dylan asked.  
  
    "Nah, they're late, too," Alistair said.   
  
    Dylan smirked a little. "We might have to ambush them when they get here. We're gonna have to start an hour late just because of them," he pointed out.   
  
    "Well, don't make it sound as if we're not already starting half an hour late because of you two twats. I was the only one on time," Arthur said.  
  
    "Well, how do we know that you weren't late too, and that you just happened to get here before I did?" Alistair asked, looking at Arthur suspiciously.   
  
    Dylan raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, how do we know?" he asked.  
  
    Arthur rolled his eyes. "Because since when am  _I_  ever late? Besides, no matter what, I was still here before the two of you. Therefore, if all of us had arrived when I did, we'd already be having our fun for the day," he said.  
  
    "Hey! You guys!"   
  
    Arthur, Alistair and Dylan all looked behind themselves when they heard the familiar sound of two unanimous voices calling to them. Two tall and thin boys with fiery red hair and freckles covering every inch of their exposed skin were running towards the group with broad grins on their faces. Aidan and Liam.   
  
    "Oh,  _there_  you two bastards are! The fuck have you been?" Alistair asked as the twins approached them.  
  
    "Sorry we were late!" Aidan exclaimed, panting to try and catch his breath.   
  
    "We were playing with some of the kids by our house and lost track of the time," Liam explained, leaning against his brother tiredly.   
  
    "Well, at least we're all here now," Arthur said, breathing a sigh of relief. "C'mon, let's grab a drink before we get going."  
  
    "Sounds good to me," Alistair said, beginning to walk towards the tavern.   
  
    "You know I'm always up for a drink!" Aidan and Liam said in unison, following Alistair.   
  
    "Sure, why not," Dylan said, and he and Arthur began to follow Alistair together.  
  
    The five of them swaggered into the tavern and scouted out a large table near the bar where they could all sit together. They pushed through the crowd that was already inside of the tavern to get to the empty table and sat down quickly. Only a few seconds later, a waitress came to see them.   
  
    "What can I get for you, boys?" she asked, clicking her pen so that she could write their orders down.   
  
    "Well, how 'bout a round of beer for the lot of us. I'll be paying for all of it," Alistair told her.   
  
    She chuckled softly and nodded, writing the order down. Technically, Alistair was the only one of them who was old enough to buy a drink at the bar, but that didn't mean that the rest of them couldn't drink if he paid for it. The staff knew the gang well enough by now that they were willing to bend the rules a little for them. Those boys were their most loyal customers, after all.   
  
    "Alright, anything else, then?" she asked once she had finished writing the initial order down.  
  
    "Well, I don't know about you boys, but I'm feeling a little peckish. I think I might order some lunch before we head out," Arthur said, looking around at the rest of the boys at the table.  
  
    "Sounds like a good idea to me," Alistair agreed, and the rest of the boys nodded.   
  
    The gang took turns ordering their lunch, and the waitress wrote everything down before running off to the kitchen. She brought the beers out quickly, which the boys opened and started drinking as soon as they had arrived. When the first round was finished, Alistair called for a second, and by that time, the food was ready and had been brought to them.   
  
    The boys continued to laugh, eat and drink together for almost an hour. Once everyone had finished eating and drinking, Alistair paid the bill for the drinks, and the rest of the boys paid for their own meal while splitting the cost of Alistair's. Once everything had been paid for, they left the tavern.   
  
    "So, where should we go stir up some trouble first, eh?" Dylan asked as they began walking outside.   
  
    "Well, I...-" Arthur began, but stopped when he noticed something odd out of the corner of his eye.  
  
    He turned his head to the side and looked at the sky, catching a glimpse of a brightly colored and almost familiar looking bird that seemed to be flying towards them. The bird had a roll of paper in its mouth. Arthur realized with ecstasy that it was one of the Spades Castle messenger birds. Alfred must have written another letter to him.  
  
    "You what, Arthur?" Dylan asked, raising an eyebrow at Arthur when he had stopped talking before turning his head to gaze in the direction that Arthur was looking. His eyes widened when he saw the bird. "The fuck is that!?" he asked.  
  
    Hearing Dylan's outburst, Alistair, Aidan and Liam turned their heads to look at whatever Arthur and Dylan were already looking at. The bird was nearly to them by now, and soon settled itself on Arthur's shoulder, making him laugh. The others just stared at him in bewilderment.   
  
    "The fuck is that bird doing on your shoulder, Arthur?" Alistair asked, raising an eyebrow.   
  
    "And what's it got in its mouth?" Aidan and Liam asked together.   
  
    Arthur blushed softly when he realized that he had never opened a letter from Alfred in front of the boys before. Sure, they knew that he had a pen pal who lived in Spades, but they had no idea who it was or really anything about him at all. They had never seen the bird before.   
  
    "Oh, uh, i-it's nothing. It's just a letter from my pen pal, that's all," Arthur said, taking the letter from the bird's mouth gently and brushing his finger under its beak, making it coo softly.  
  
    "Oh, is that right? Well, hurry up and read it, then. You know we're always eager to hear more about this mysterious pen pal of yours," Alistair coaxed.  
  
    "Oh, no, it's not important. I'll read it when I get home, boys. C'mon, let's just go have some fun," Arthur dismissed, folding up the letter further and shoving it into his pants pocket.   
  
    "No way, asshat! You gotta read it to us right now! Besides, that bird isn't going back until you give it something to bring to your friend," Dylan said, reaching towards Arthur's pocket to grab the letter from it.  
  
    "H-hey, back off, dickhead!" Arthur shouted, slapping Dylan's hand away from his pocket and backing away from him.  
  
    Alistair smirked a little and looked towards Aidan and Liam. "You know what to do, lads," he told them, to which they nodded eagerly.  
  
    Arthur's eyes widened as Aidan and Liam jumped him, each of them grabbing one of his arms and holding him so that he couldn't get away or defend himself. He snarled and struggled against them as Dylan went around behind him to hold him by his waist. Alistair stepped forward and grabbed the letter from his pocket.  
  
    "Put that down, you prick! It's none of your fucking business what's in that letter! Let me go!" Arthur shouted, still fighting against the three boys who were holding him, without any success.  
  
    Alistair chuckled softly before unfolding the letter and reading it aloud to Arthur and the others. "Arthur. Yao and I have pretty much everything set up for the masquerade this weekend. Your name isn't on the guest list and we don't have a fake name for you, but that's okay, because Yao can get you in anyways. Just be waiting for him at the Safirheim Tavern on the night of the masquerade and he'll come pick you up. If we have to, we'll make up something about how you're related to Yao or whatever. No one will be able to tell as long as you're wearing a mask. By the way, you have a suit ready, right? If not, that's okay. Yao can bring you one. Just get back to me as soon as you can. Alfred."   
  
    Alistair read the entire letter in a sing-song voice, giving a fake giggle every now and then and glancing at Arthur, whose face was turning more and more red by the second. When Alistair had finished reading, the three boys who were holding Arthur "oohed" in unison, and began laughing. Arthur growled and started struggling against them again, and they finally let him go.   
  
    "Give me back the letter right now, Alistair, or I'll kick your ass!" Arthur shouted, walking towards Alistair and reaching for the letter, which was being held just out of his reach.  
  
    "Fine, y'can have it back if you want it. I've read everything I needed to see," Alistair said, chuckling softly and holding the letter out to Arthur, who snatched it away from him without hesitation.   
  
    "Now, it sounds to me like you've got a lot of explaining to do to us, Arthur. You've been keeping this a secret for far too long now. Time to come clean," Alistair told him, crossing his arms as he and the other three boys surrounded Arthur, enclosing him within their small circle, with no way to escape.  
  
    "Yeah, you better start explaining, Arthur! Isn't Yao the name of the Jack of Spades? And Alfred is the Prince! And Spades is holding their masquerade ball for All Hallow's Eve this weekend! This has to be a fucking joke! You can't seriously tell us that you're dating the Prince of Spades, can you!?" Dylan questioned incredulously.   
  
    Arthur groaned and rolled his eyes. "Oh, for Aces' sake, I'm not dating the fucking Prince of Spades," he said, sighing heavily before continuing, "but he is the pen pal that I've been telling you all about."   
  
    "Get out of here, you bloody player. How the fuck did that happen?" Alistair demanded.   
  
    Arthur sighed again. "Look, it was a little while ago, okay? It's been a few months now. The King of Spades had come to have a meeting with the Hearts royalty and he brought Alfred along with him. Alfred sneaked out of Hearts castle and I happened to bump into him outside. We got to talking and we hung out together for the day, and after that, we sort of became really good friends. He sent me a letter and I sent him one back and since then we've been talking to each other and meeting up with each other in secret whenever we can. It's really hard and no one can know about it because his father is the most selfish, horrible, abusive excuse of a man that I have ever met in my life. I put my own life on the line every time I go to see Alfred. The four of you can't tell  _anyone,_  do you understand?" he asked them, almost pleadingly.  
  
    The other boys' faces softened.   
  
    "'Course we understand, Arthur. You should'a just told us about all of this in the first place. We won't breathe a word of it to anyone. Isn't that right, lads?" Alistair asked, looking around at the other three boys.  
  
    "Of course it is! The five of us have to stick together, after all," Dylan answered, nodding confidently.   
  
    "You know we'd do anything for you, Arthur. You should've known that you could trust us from the beginning," Aidan said.   
  
    "It'll be our little secret. You don't have to hide it from us anymore, and no one else will ever know," Liam promised.  
  
    Arthur's face softened and his furious glare soon turned into a bright smile. He laughed quietly before pulling the bunch into a bit of an awkward hug. The four of them grinned and sandwiched him inside a giant group hug.  
  
    "Thank you, all of you. You don't know how much this means to me," Arthur told them.  
  
    "Yeah, of course, mate. You know we're always here for you," Dylan said, being the first to pull away from the hug.  
  
    "I still can't believe you've been dating the Prince of Spades for almost half a year and you never told us about it," Aidan mumbled, also pulling away from the hug. Liam and Alistair did the same, leaving the four of them to look at the flustered Arthur once again.  
  
    "I already told you all, we are  _not_  dating! It's just that I'm Alfred's only friend. He isn't allowed out of the castle, so I'm the only one he has to talk to. What's so bad about that?" Arthur asked them.   
  
    "Oh, sure, that's why you've been talking to him long distance for almost six months no matter what hardships are thrown at you, and why you sneak off to who knows where just to see him, and why you put your life on the line for him, and why you're sneaking into some fancy masquerade ball in a different kingdom. Sure, of course, you're not dating him. There are no feelings there  _at all,_  it's just completely, one-hundred percent platonic. Sure, I definitely believe that," Liam said, making the others snicker.   
  
    Arthur didn't know how to respond to this. Everything that they had said was true. He had been keeping in contact with Alfred for six months despite the fact that they were in entirely separate kingdoms. Relationships like that were rare and any that he'd heard of never lasted long, yet Arthur couldn't bear the thought of never talking to Alfred again. Furthermore, he was determined to keep in contact with Alfred no matter what hardships were thrown at them, and he had put his life on the line several times just to see Alfred in person again. But he'd never thought of this relationship as anything more than platonic.   
  
    Well, until now. The points that his friends had brought up made Arthur start to question what he really thought about Alfred. He wanted to be with Alfred, to be around him, all the time. He wished for that profusely. He had always wished that, ever since he had met Alfred. The wish grew stronger and stronger every day. But that didn't mean anything. That would happen with any long distance relationship, romantic or platonic.   
  
    He wanted to take care of Alfred. He wanted to get Alfred away from his father. He wanted to help Alfred heal, fix his wounds after he'd been hurt, and make sure that he was never hurt again. Not by his father, or anyone else. But again, that was normal. Arthur was sure that if  _anyone_  had  _any_  idea of what was going on inside the walls of Spades Castle, they'd want to get Alfred out, too.  
  
    Still, Arthur found his mind drifting off to other thoughts now. Did he think that Alfred was attractive? Well, yes. But who wouldn't be attracted to those gorgeous blue eyes and that smile that could light up an entire room? He was adorable. Anyone with proper eyesight could see that.   
  
    The question was, could Arthur ever see himself kissing Alfred? Well... Now that he thought about that, he thought that he certainly wouldn't mind it... After all, Alfred's lips did look really soft, he was sure that kissing them would be pleasurable...  
  
    He could see himself calling Alfred his boyfriend. He could see himself ending every letter he sent to Alfred with "I love you". He could see himself kissing Alfred whenever he had the chance. It seemed surreal, almost like a fairy tale, but it was possible. It was so possible...  
  
     _No,_  Arthur thought to himself sternly.  _No, there's no way in hell that you can be thinking thoughts like these, Arthur. You **don't**  feel that way about Alfred, and you never have. It's just because everyone else is messing with you,_ though he was starting to become less and less sure of that by the second.   
  
     _Besides, even if you did feel that way about him, he'd never feel the same. He's a Prince. He's going to marry a Princess or a Duchess or some other noblewoman. He'd never pay a second glance to you and his father certainly would **never**  approve of  **you**. So stop thinking about it before you get yourself into trouble,_  he finished, and that seemed to give him the strength to come back to the argument he had been having with his friends.   
  
    "Well, wouldn't you expect me to do the same if it was for one of you? Wouldn't you do it for me?" he asked them, glancing back and forth between all of them seriously.   
  
    "Well... I, yeah, I suppose we would..." Alistair replied, and the others nodded slowly in agreement.   
  
    "Then I do believe we are done arguing about this subject. Alfred and I are just friends, and that's all there is to it," Arthur said.   
  
    "Well, just friends or not, you still need a suit for that masquerade ball. D'you have one or not?" Aidan asked.  
  
    "And d'you have a mask to go with it?" Liam inquired.   
  
    Arthur frowned. "Well, ah, no," he admitted.  
  
    "Oh, well for Ace's sake, laddie! How long've you known about the masquerade? Surely you've had enough time to get one?" Alistair asked incredulously.  
  
    "I-I've known about it for a good two months now..." Arthur muttered, averting his eyes.  
  
    "Two months!? How could you have known about this for two months and not have gotten a costume!?" Dylan exclaimed.  
  
    "I-I don't know, I'm sorry! I haven't had the opportunity to make much money these past two months and besides, what the fuck am I supposed to tell my parents!? Oh, yeah, mum and dad, I'm buying this super expensive masquerade costume fit for a ball inside of a castle and I'm not going to use it ever!? I'm not into that sort of thing! I'm a fucking punk, remember!? They'd know something was up!" Arthur shouted.   
  
    "Hey, don't be yelling at us, assface.  _You're_  the one who waited two months to get a fucking suit," Dylan pointed out.   
  
    "You guys have to help me! I have to get one soon! Like in four days soon! Yao is already doing too much for me, I can't have him bringing me a suit, too!" Arthur exclaimed.  
  
    "Well where the fuck are we supposed to get a decent suit from four days before the masquerade? It's not like you've got money to spend on it and the rest of us sure as hell don't either," Liam said.  
  
    "Do we know anyone who could make a suit for cheap in that amount of time?" Aidan asked.  
  
    "Not anyone who could make it fit for the Ballroom of Spades," Dylan answered.  
  
    Alistair pursed his lips in thought for a moment before making another contribution to the conversation. "Well, I've got an idea, but it's going to be pretty tricky. I'm not sure if you'd want to go through with it," he said, looking at Arthur seriously.  
  
    "What is it? Tell me, please, I'm desperate! I'll try anything at this point!" Arthur begged.   
  
    "Well, I don't know what kind of deal he'd want you to make with him, but you could always find a Joker and ask him to make a suit for you..." Alistair suggested.  
  
    Arthur's brows furrowed at the idea. His last encounter with a Joker hadn't exactly been a pleasant one, and after the incident at Burlone, he was hoping that he wouldn't have to deal with one again. Though, if he did meet with one, this time they would be on neutral ground, and it would just be one of them instead of several. He was sure that a Joker wouldn't ask for something huge in return for a measly costume. It seemed to be the only option he had right now, other than asking Yao to do him yet another favor, which he wanted to avoid at all costs.   
  
    "Well, I suppose it's worth a try..." he muttered, looking up at Alistair. "I mean, worst case scenario, I don't like what the Joker wants in return so I just don't get a suit from him... There's no harm in at least trying to make a deal," he mused.   
  
    "Well, if you feel that way, then we better find a way to get you a Joker!" Liam exclaimed, smiling.   
  
    "We should go to that one place everybody's always talking about, you know? The big rock by the entrance to the forest that looks like a pig. They say if you call for a Joker there, he'll come to you," Aidan told them.   
  
    "Well, that's not too far away. We could get there in twenty minutes if we book it right now," Dylan said.  
  
    "That settles it, then. C'mon lads, we're goin' to the Pig Rock," Alistair declared with a triumphant smile on his face.   
  
    Alistair began walking away from the tavern again, and the others followed suit. Arthur stuffed Alfred's letter back into his pocket, and the hummingbird that had delivered it stayed perched firmly on Arthur's shoulder. It didn't have any intention of leaving until it had a reply to bring to its master.   
  
    Just as Dylan had said, it didn't take them long at all to reach the Pig Rock that everyone was always talking about. It was a little less than twenty minutes. At least, that's what it felt like. Truthfully, none of them had ever been to the Pig Rock before, but they still knew how to get to it. Everyone did. It was just something you picked up after living in the city of Shale for so long.   
  
    The five of them approached the rock and stood around it. Aidan and Liam even climbed it and sat on top of it. Everyone was silent for a while as they looked around, exploring their surroundings and just trying to figure out where to go from here.   
  
    "So... What now?" Liam asked, looking down at the three boys who were still on the ground and swinging his legs as he draped them over the edge of the rock.   
  
    "Well, obviously we've got to summon the Joker," Alistair replied.  
  
    "Yes but  _how,_  is the question," Aidan mused.  
  
    Dylan shrugged. "Why don't you just try calling for him?" he asked.  
  
    Arthur rolled his eyes. "Oh, mighty Joker of the Pig Rock, please come forth, that I might strike a deal with thee in the presence of thine sacred landmark!" he shouted to the sky before looking at Dylan. "Is that what you had in mind?" he inquired.   
  
    Dylan was about to reply, when his mouth dropped open instead of moving to form the words that he wanted to speak. Liam's, Aidan's, and Alistair's eyes all widened as they stared behind Arthur. Arthur raised an eyebrow as his gaze shifted to each of them in turn.   
  
    "The fuck are you all staring at?" he asked them.  
  
    "Well, if I'm not mistaken, and I never am, I think they're staring at the Awesome Me," a low and raspy voice purred from behind Arthur.  
  
    The hairs on Arthur's arms stood on end. A shiver ran through his entire body, shaking him to his core. He swallowed thickly before slowly turning around to see whoever was behind him. Green eyes met with deep, glowing crimson. Silver hair was partially covered by a hoodie with devil horns atop it. A mischievous smirk plastered the other's face. Arthur didn't even have to see the Mark to know that this was a Joker.   
  
    "So, I heard you pigs wanna make a deal with the Awesome Me? Is that right?" the Joker inquired, taking a few steps back from Arthur to give him a little space.  
  
    Once Arthur had gotten over the initial shock of the meeting, he was able to calm down enough to answer the Joker calmly and coolly. He stared at the Joker evenly and nodded slowly. "Yes, that's correct," he said, "although 'pigs' isn't a very polite term, now is it, Mister Joker?"   
  
    The Joker chuckled softly. "Since when do Jokers care about politeness?" he asked. "But if you insist upon being to referred to in a 'polite' way, maybe you pigs should tell me your names."  
  
    "My name is Arthur. These are my friends. That's Alistair, Dylan, Liam, and Aidan," Arthur introduced, pointing to each boy as he said their name.   
  
    The Joker smirked faintly. "Well, in that case, my name is Gilbert, but I'd prefer to be addressed as 'Your Awesomeness'," he told them.   
  
    Arthur sighed softly and shortly before clearing his throat and standing up a little straighter. "Very well then,  _Your Awesomeness._  If you haven't guessed this already, I've come to make a deal with you," he said.  
  
    "I guessed that much," Gilbert replied. "But what is it that you want, exactly?"   
  
    "I need a suit," Arthur answered.  
  
    "Oh?" Gilbert asked, raising an eyebrow.  
  
    "Yeah. I'm going to the King of Spades' masquerade ball this weekend, and I need a costume for it. I don't care what it looks like. It just has to be nice, with a mask that will hide my face properly. Think you can do that?" Arthur inquired.  
  
    "Well, duh, of course I can! I'm a Joker, I can do anything!" Gilbert exclaimed.  
  
    "In that case, what do you want in return for the suit? I don't care what it is. I'll give it to you," Arthur promised.  
  
    Gilbert pursed his lips and began to rub his chin in thought. It was almost a minute before he was finally able to answer Arthur. "Well, what it is that I want, you don't have on you right now. But if you could get it for me, I think I can help you out," he said.  
  
    "What do you need me to get...?" Arthur asked.   
  
    "There's a city that's right on the border of Hearts and Clubs. It's called Aucteraden. There's a kid who lives there, their name is Klaus. They've got something of mine, and I want it back," Gilbert explained.   
  
    "Okay...? Well what does this kid look like? What did they take from you? How can I get it back?" Arthur asked.  
  
    "They're a short little thing, about yea high," Gilbert said, lowering his hand to show that the kid was only as tall as his waist, "and they've got really fucking long hair. It's all done up in braids 'n shit. It's kinda silver like mine but it's got a purple tint to it. Their eyes are purple."  
  
    Arthur nodded to show Gilbert that he understood before Gilbert continued.  
  
    "Well, the kid has a certain instrument of mine. A flute made of pure silver. It's my most prized possession, but I lost it to that little brat ages ago! I don't care how you get it back, but if you can bring it back to me, then I'll make you your suit," Gilbert promised.  
  
    "What happens if I can't get it back before the masquerade...?" Arthur asked.  
  
    Gilbert shrugged. "Well, you seem like you are a man of your word, so I suppose I could cut you some slack and give you the suit anyways. But you'd have a deadline to get me the flute back sometime after the masquerade, and if you didn't get it to me before the deadline, well... I can make your life a living hell," he answered darkly.  
  
    Arthur swallowed thickly. "I-I'm sure that I can get it to you before the masquerade..." he said.  
  
    Gilbert smiled. "Good. Then we should have no problem. Now, if that's all that you guys wanted, why don't you go ahead and get out of here. I'm sure you've got a lot of resting to do before you go trying to get my flute back," he said, waving his hand dismissively.   
  
    Arthur nodded. "Right." He turned around to look back at his friends, who had all been watching the exchange eagerly from behind him. "You lot ready to get out of here?" he asked.  
  
    "Sure," Aidan and Liam said in unison before jumping down from the rock that they had been sitting on.   
  
    "Good. Then let's go," Arthur said.   
  
    He turned around to glance briefly at the Joker that he had just been talking to, but found that he had disappeared. Arthur stood in silence for a moment before shaking it off and beginning to walk away. The others followed him hurriedly.  
  
    "Are you really going to go all the way to Aucteraden and steal some flute from some random kid?" Dylan asked as they were walking.  
  
    "Well, I don't really have much of a choice. Like I said before, I don't want to have Yao bring me anything... I'm sure it'll be easy. Gilbert said the kid was tiny. I can get it, easy," Arthur assured.   
  
    "Well, I hope you don't think that you're going alone," Alistair said.  
  
    "Yeah! If you're going on this cool mission, we're not missing out on it!" Liam exclaimed.  
  
    "Besides, you'll probably need some help. These things are never as easy as they seem, especially when they come from a Joker," Aidan pointed out.   
  
    Arthur sighed again, but he was smiling, and he chuckled softly. "I can't do anything without you four, can I?" he asked.  
  
    "Well- You have managed to be sneaking around with the Prince of Spades for the past six months and none of us knew about it. But anything else? Nah. You can't do anything else without us," Liam said.  
  
    "Fair enough," Arthur said, his smile growing wider.  
  
    "So what're we doing now, then? Are we going to go straight to Aucteredan?" Dylan asked.  
  
    "No... No, I think it's better if we set out early tomorrow morning. For now, I need something to write back to Alfred with so that I can send this bird back before it gets any later. Besides, we'll need to pack some things and tell our parents that we're taking a trip together. We might be in Aucteredan for a few days..." Arthur answered.  
  
    "Well, let's hurry and get you home, then. Wouldn't want to keep your boyfriend waiting, now would we?" Alistair teased, and the others laughed with Arthur's face went red.   
  
    The boys walked back to the inside of Shale and took Arthur back to his home. He hugged all of them and said his goodbyes before disappearing into his house and running to his bedroom before his parents could see that he was home, or furthermore, that he had a bird on his shoulder. Once he was inside his room, he shut and locked the door quickly before running towards his desk and sitting down at it.  
  
    He quickly pulled out a piece of paper and a pen so that he could write a letter back to Alfred. The bird hopped off of his shoulder and glided onto the desk, walking across Arthur's paper to get to the edge of the desk. It watched Arthur curiously as he scribbled his words across the paper.  
  
     _Alfred,  
  
    I'm so excited for this weekend. I think this is going to be the most fun we've yet had together. Don't worry about having Yao bring me a suit. I've got one. It's really spectacular looking, if I do say so myself. I'm sure that you'll love it. I'll see you in a few days.  
  
    -Arthur_  
  
    Arthur set his pen aside and picked the letter up. He quickly rolled the paper up and grabbed a rubber band out of his desk drawer to wrap it around the paper and keep it closed. After he had finished with the letter, he held it out to the bird, who quickly grabbed it from his hands and clung to it.  
  
    Arthur smiled faintly before standing up from his chair and walking over to his bedroom window. He quickly unlatched it and pulled it open before looking back at the bird on his desk. When the bird saw the window open, it flew off of the desk and soared out the window without hesitation. Arthur watched it fly away until he couldn't see it anymore, and afterwards, he closed and latched the window.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HOLY SHIT THIS CHAPTER WAS SO MUCH FUN TO WRITE. I ENDED UP BRINGING IN A LOT MORE CHARACTERS THAN I HAD MEANT TO. Writing with the Kirkland was so much fun holy shit /// I think I'm going to have them becoming somewhat major characters in this series. The dialogue between them is so much fun to write. The next chapter is already looking spiffy! Hope you guys are enjoying so far!


	9. Klaus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arthur and his friends travel to the tiny village of Aucteredan to complete their end of the deal that they made with Gilbert, but they soon find out that taking a silver flute from a child is easier said than done.

_"If man could have half his wishes, he would double his troubles"_

_-Ben Franklin_

\---

 

     When Arthur had said early in the morning, he had meant at the crack of dawn. The city that Gilbert had instructed him to go to, Aucteredan, wasn't all that far away. It was about two and a half hours away by motorcycle. But Arthur wanted as much time in the city as possible. Aucteredan was a lot smaller than most cities in Hearts, but nevertheless, who knew how long it was going to take to find Klaus?

 

     Arthur had gotten out of bed at 5:45 in the morning. He was dressed and had packed various supplies into a backpack by 6:00. He had eaten breakfast and was out of the house by 6:15. He was waiting by the tavern for his friends, on his bike, by 6:22. His friends had arrived on their own bikes by 6:30.

 

     Arthur waved and smiled at each of them in greeting as they pulled up next to him. They came in one by one, with less than a minute separating each arrival. Alistair was first, then Liam, then Aidan, and finally Dylan. Each of them were dressed and wearing backpacks similar to Arthur's. Everyone was clearly ready for the adventure at hand.

 

     "Ready to go, mates? Everyone packed up? Had enough to eat to get you through the trip without stops?" Arthur asked them. Each of them nodded at him.

 

     "Good, because once we get going, we're not stopping for anything. We've got to get to Aucteredan as quickly as possible, and we need to start looking for this Klaus kid as soon as we get there," Arthur said.

 

     "It'll be a cinch, man. Don't even worry about it. This kid is gonna be putty in our hands," Alistair declared.

 

     "I admire your confidence, Alistair. It's much appreciated. But we can't be too cocky. We've got to be careful, and maybe even a little calculating. A Joker wouldn't give us an easy task. If it was that easy, he would have taken the flute from Klaus himself. There's something about this kid that we're going to have to look out for," Arthur said.

 

     "Yeah, well, we'll see. Let's just get out of here, alright?" Alistair said.

 

     Arthur nodded, and revved up his bike again. His friends did the same. Arthur turned his motorcycle around and began riding down the street, towards the exit of the city of Shale. His friends followed him eagerly.

 

     It was two and a half hours of non-stop riding. Each of the boys had made sure to fill their cycles up with enough fuel to last them the ride to Aucteredan  _and_  the ride back to Shale, as long as they didn't use their motorcycles while they were in Aucteredan. They would hide the cycles outside the city before entering it, so that no one would find the cycles, and they would remember not to use them while they were in the city.

 

     Everyone had been tired when they had begun their journey, and they were even more tired by the end of it. It was a miracle that none of them had fallen asleep while driving. But the sun was high now and the sky was bright. The ride had given them all sufficient time to wake up, so though they were exhausted from riding for so long, they were just as rowdy as ever by the time they had reached Aucteredan.

 

     Hearts was a naturally woody Kingdom. Forests made up a good 70% of the land. That being said, there were many places for Arthur and the others to hide their bikes before entering Aucteredan. They rode their cycles as deep into the forest as they could before dismounting and hiding their bikes in bushes and vines, making sure that no one would be able to find them without a thorough search. After the bikes were hidden, they walked out of the forest and entered the city of Aucteredan.

 

     The city already had a quiet feel to it compared to Shale. Then again, most cities were quieter than Shale, what with Shale being the capital and all. But this city felt cozy, and homely.  It was warm and inviting. Upon entering the city, no voices could be heard, and no people could be seen. However, as they got deeper, the town started to become more alive.

 

     The houses and the buildings were a lot smaller than the ones in Shale. They were more traditional-looking. There were a lot of old log houses and dirty brick buildings. Everything looked a little weathered, but not in a haunting way. It all actually looked sort of endearing. There were a few people outside; some children playing together in the streets while adults watched from the porches of houses and shops. Arthur's eyes scanned over all of them. Unfortunately, none of the children or adults fit the description of the kid that Gilbert had described to him.

 

     "Man, this place is pretty cute... Why haven't we been here before? It's pretty relaxing. Looks like a good place to stir up some trouble, eh?" Dylan asked, breaking the silence that had been passing through the group for quite some time now.

 

     "Aw, I'd feel bad for disturbing the peace in this place. These people don't even look like they'd punish us. They'd just give us that disappointed look, y'know? It'd break my heart. Or what's left of it," Alistair said, smirking a little.

 

     "Seems like the kind of town where everybody knows each other, yeah?" Aidan mused.

 

     "I wish our city was that tight-knit," Liam said.

 

     Arthur hadn't been that invested in the conversation until Aidan had spoken. He had said that this looked like a city where everyone knew everyone else. If that was the case, then finding Klaus wouldn't be hard at all. They'd just have to ask around until someone could tell them where Klaus was. Maybe this wouldn't be so hard after all.

 

     "Y'know... If everyone really  _does_  know everyone else in this town, it'd be pretty easy to find Klaus," Arthur said.

 

     "Oh, yeah! We'll just ask around for where they lives until someone can tell us!" Dylan exclaimed.

 

     "So where do we start, then?" Alistair asked.

 

     "Well, there are some women sitting over there who don't look like they're doing anything. I'm sure we can try them first," Liam said, pointing to the trio of women who were sitting on the porch of one of the town's shops and watching the children play.

 

     "Sounds like a plan to me," Aidan said, grinning.

 

     "Well, then let's get on with it," Arthur said, and began walking towards the trio of women.

 

     The women noticed Arthur and his friends walking towards them early on. They had turned their attention away from their children for the time being in order to watch as that gang of rowdy-looking boys strode towards them with somewhat determined expressions on their faces. The women were certain that they had never seen these boys in town before. Nevertheless, they were ready to welcome these boys with open arms.

 

     "Well hello there, boys. We haven't seen the likes of you around here before. What might you be in town for?" one of them asked once the boys were standing near enough to them.

 

     "We're so sorry to bother you, my ladies, but we've come here on a sort of mission. We're looking for a kid named Klaus. We have an important message to bring to them. We were wondering if you might direct us to where they live," Arthur asked, hoping that he and his friends seemed trustworthy enough.

 

     "Oh, is that right? Well, little Klaus and their family don't live in the village like the rest of us do. They live down in the forest near the back of the village. There's a trail that can guide you to their house. I can send one of the children to guide you boys if you need it," the woman replied.

 

     "Oh, that's alright, ma'am. I'm sure we can find it ourselves. We'll come back and let you know if we run into any trouble," Arthur assured.

 

     "Well, alright. If you say so. We'll be right here if you need us. Say hello to Klaus for us, won't you?" she requested.

 

     Arthur chuckled softly. "Will do, ma'am." He then turned to his friends. "Come on, lads. Let's go find ourselves a Klaus."

 

     Aucteredan was a small town, and it was easy to traverse. They made it from the village to the forest in only a few minutes, walking at a slow pace. Just as the woman from earlier had said, there was a trail leading into the forest from the back of the village. The boys began to walk down it without hesitation, though they didn't know how far the trail would stretch until they reached Klaus' house.

 

     "Hey, wouldn't it be fucked up if we got to this kid's house and we found out that they've actually been dead for like fifty years but their apparition is so strong that everyone thinks they're still alive," Aidan asked as they were walking. The journey through the forest had been silent up until this point, and all of the boys would have agreed that the forest definitely gave off an eerie vibe, which was probably where Aidan's sudden idea came from.

 

     Liam rolled his eyes. "If Klaus was a ghost, Gilbert would've said something about it, dimwit," he dismissed.

 

     "Not necessarily," Aidan protested. "Maybe he wanted to shock us, or give us an extra challenge that we hadn't prepared for, or something like that."

 

     "Well, the lady from before said that Klaus and their  _family_  live back here in the forest. That's implying that there are at least two other people living with them. It's completely illogical for three ghosts to be able to gather enough energy from these surroundings to manifest themselves so fully that their neighbors think that they're alive," Dylan said, causing the others to raise eyebrows at him. He blushed softly and averted his eyes from all of them. "But it's completely illogical for ghosts to even exist, anyways," he added quickly.

 

     "Well, I wouldn't say that..." Alistair said thoughtfully.

 

     Dylan looked at him, slightly shocked by what he had said. "You wouldn't?" Dylan asked, sounding almost hopeful.

 

     Alistair shook his head. "There are a lot of things in this world that we could never understand even if we tried. Magic and mystery that will stay unexplained for as long as this Kingdom, or the other three, for that matter, stands. When people die, they've got to go somewhere. But maybe some people just linger around. Who knows? The idea of ghosts has to have come from somewhere. You know what they say. Every legend has a bit of truth to it," he mused.

 

     "Well, regardless, I am ninety-nine percent sure that our dear Klaus is  _not_  a ghost. We can discuss that nonsense after we've found them, alright?" Arthur interrupted.

 

     "Oh, c'mon, Arthur. What's the point in raining on our parade?" Aidan asked.

 

     "Yeah, it's not like we've got to search for the little bugger or anything. We've just gotta follow this trail until it takes us to his house. We've gotta do  _something_  to pass the time, don't we?" Liam continued.

 

     "I suppose, but all this talk of ghosts is giving me the creeps... This forest is eerie enough on its own, without you lot talking of little ghost children and shit. I'm just trying to keep things optimistic," Arthur said.

 

     "Killjoy," Dylan muttered.

 

     Arthur sighed, and that was the last thing heard from any of them until they finally reached Klaus' house.

 

     "Well, this has to be the place... It's the only house we've come across, and most likely the only one we will. I think the trail stops here, anyways," Arthur said after they had stopped walking, when the house had come into view.

 

     "Then let's get this over with," Alistair urged, and began walking towards the front door of the house.

 

     The others followed behind him slowly. When Alistair reached the front door, he knocked on it determinedly, and without hesitation. The boys stood back and waited for an answer, but when a minute had passed and the door hadn't been opened yet, Alistair knocked again. There was still no answer.

 

     "Told you the place was haunted," Aidan said quietly.

 

     "Bollocks," Arthur protested. "It's probably just that no one is home."

 

     "Well then what are we supposed to do? Wait around until the kid gets back? That could take ages!" Dylan complained.

 

     "What are you, stupid?" Arthur asked him, hitting him briefly in the back of his head. "We'll find a way to get into the house before they get back, find the flute, and book it before anyone can catch us," he explained.

 

     "Sounds like a plan to me," Alistair said, rolling up his sleeves and winding his arm back as if he were going to punch the door in.

 

     Arthur's eyes widened, and he grabbed onto Alistair's arm quickly. "No! No, Alistair, we can't punch the door in! We don't even know if it's locked!" he exclaimed.

 

     "It's not," Liam said, and Arthur and Alistair both turned their heads to see that Liam had opened the door without any trouble at all. 

 

     "There- See, I told you so. You've always got to examine a situation thoroughly before resulting to brute force, Alistair. If you had punched that door in, I'm sure we would have had a lot of explaining to do..." Arthur said.

 

     Alistair rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. Come on, let's just get in there and find the stupid flute," he replied, and pushed past Arthur and Liam to get into the house.

 

     Arthur, Liam, Aidan, and Dylan all followed Alistair into the house quickly. The door was closed, so as not to cause any suspicion if Klaus and their family were to return before the gang was finished with their heist. Not that anyone was worried about time. It was a small house, and from the looks of things, it was relatively empty. The gang would be able to locate the flute and escape with it easily.

 

     "Look... There aren't any stairs that I can see, which means there isn't a second floor and there probably isn't a basement," Arthur pointed out. "I'll check the main room. Alistair, you take the kitchen. Dylan, you search the bathroom. Aidan, you take one bedroom, and Liam, you take the other. If you find anything suspicious, check it out. Don't stop looking until you've searched every inch of your room," he instructed.

 

     "Right!" the others exclaimed, and dashed off to search the rooms that they had been assigned.

 

     Each room in the house was relatively small, and as pointed out before, the house was virtually empty. There wasn't much in the way of furniture or decor. In the main room there was a couch and two chairs surrounding a small coffee table. In the kitchen there was a round wooden table surrounded by six wooden chairs, along with some basic kitchen appliances, like a stove and a refrigerator. The cabinets had little food in them, and there seemed to be one set of dishes for each place at the table. The bathroom had normal bathroom things in it, and the bedrooms had three beds each (a set of bunk-beds and one smaller single bed) and two dressers with three drawers each. That was it.

 

     Each of the boys searched their designated rooms thoroughly. They searched for cracks in the wall and loose floorboards and any little thing that could have led to a secret passageway or a hidden storage facility. They found nothing. There was nothing under the mattresses. Nothing in the pillowcases. Nothing in the couch cushions. Nothing in the dresser drawers, or in the cabinets. There was no sign of the flute anywhere.

 

     When each boy was done searching in his respective room, they regrouped in the main room, collectively perplexed as to what they could have possibly missed in their search. This had to be the right house. They had followed the instructions from the ladies in the village and this was the only house that fit the bill. There was nothing suspicious in this house other than the surprising lack of furniture and the fact that there was nobody home, but that should have made the search ten times easier. What were they supposed to do now?

 

     "Maybe we have the wrong house after all," Dylan suggested quietly.

 

     "It can't be... This is the only house we could find... Any other house would be an hour away from the village at least, and at that point it wouldn't even be part of Aucteredan anymore... And Gilbert specifically said that Klaus lived in Aucteredan, and those women we met earlier said that they lived here, too," Arthur pointed out.

 

     "Then maybe the kid takes the flute with them whenever they leave. Maybe we have to wait for them to get back before we take it," Alistair said.

 

     Arthur sighed heavily. "But how on earth are we going to be able to convince the kid to give it to us? If they take it with them everywhere that they go, then it must be precious to them. We can't just take it from their hands. That's too cruel," he said.

 

     "Well, we're not going to find the answer to any of these problems inside this wretched house. If we have to wait for the kid to come back then we're going to do it outside, where we won't get in trouble whenever they get home," Liam said.

 

     "Liam's right. Let's just go wait in the forest until the kid gets back home," Aidan agreed, and began to walk towards the front door again.

 

     Liam, Dylan, Alistair, and Arthur all followed Aidan to the front door. However, when Aidan grabbed the doorknob and tried to open it, he found that the knob wouldn't budge. The door was locked. "Well that's peculiar..." he muttered under his breath as he pulled his hand away from the knob.

 

     "What? What's peculiar? What's wrong with the door, Aidan?" Dylan asked, his tone of voice seeming slightly frightened.

 

     "The door's locked... Who was the last one to get into the house? Who could have locked the door?" Aidan asked, and turned his head to look at the boys who were standing behind him.

 

     "Well, I was the last one into the house, but I certainly didn't lock the door," Dylan replied.

 

     "Hmm. You must'a done it accidentally when you closed the door. But whatever, we can just... Unlock... It...?" Aidan trailed off as he turned to look at the knob again, with the intention of just undoing the lock, but there was a problem.

 

     "Guys, the door don't have a lock on it. Least not one that can be undone without a key," Aidan said.

 

     "The fuck do you mean? None of us have a key so how the fuck could it be locked, then?" Liam asked incredulously.

 

     "How the fuck should I know?" Aidan asked in response.

 

     "Look, calm down, you two. We don't have time to be yelling at each other. It looks like we're going to have to search the house again to find the key to the door..." Arthur said.

 

     "Oh, you mean this key?"

 

     A chill was sent down each of the boys' spines as the unfamiliar voice of a child emerged from the air behind them. Their skin started to grow pale as a hundred different ideas started swimming through their heads. Was the house haunted after all? Had the child been there all along, hiding away in some secret place that they couldn't find even with their thorough searching? Did the child sneak in while the gang was arguing in the main room? Furthermore, who the fuck was this kid, anyways? None of the boys had dared to turn around and look for the source of the voice yet.

 

     "Hey, didn't your mums ever tell you it's not nice to ignore people? You better answer my sibling before you all get an assfull of my foot," another, more aggressive voice commanded, causing Dylan, Liam, and Aidan to swallow hard.

 

     Arthur was the first one to turn around. Alistair followed, then Liam, Aidan, and Dylan. Arthur came face-to-face with a tall, dark-haired boy who looked to be about his own age, maybe a year or two younger. Behind the tall boy, there was another taller boy with reddish-brown hair, who was surrounded by four other children. A small boy who wore the outfit of a sailor, a girl with an abnormal side ponytail, a boy with fiery orange hair and a scar on the right side of his face that reached to his nose, and in the middle of them all was a child who matched the description that Gilbert had given to Arthur and his friends perfectly, who was holding a large key in their hand.

 

     Arthur stared intently at the boy who was standing in front of him before clearing his throat and leaning to the side in order to get a better look at the child whom he presumed to be Klaus. Upon seeing the key in Klaus' hand, Arthur nodded subtly. "I... Mm, yes, I-I suppose that would be the key that we were looking for..." he muttered.

 

     "Well, tough luck, because you aren't getting it!" Klaus declared, and clutched the key tightly to their chest. The sailor-boy and the little girl moved closer to Klaus, seemingly in order to protect them.

 

     "What are you old farts doing in our house, anyways? Why have you come here?" the sailor-boy demanded.

 

     "Please, gentlemen," Arthur began, then looked at the girl, "my lady," he turned his attention back to the boy who was standing in front of him, "I assure you that my friends and I mean no harm. If you would just allow me to explain our situation, I'm sure that we can all walk away from this without causing any trouble..."

 

     The dark-haired boy scoffed. "Yeah, right. Since when has a group of nosy teenagers ever gotten away from a pack of Jokers without running into trouble?" he asked, and smirked as he held the back of his left hand up for Arthur and his friends to see. There was a big black "J" tattooed onto the boy's skin. One boy one, the other children held the backs of their left hands up for the others to see. All of them had "J"s tattooed onto their skin. They were all Jokers.

 

     Arthur's eyes widened, and the other boys let out soft gasps of shock. "What? But Gilbert never said-" Arthur began, but Klaus cut him off.

 

     " _Oh._  You were sent by Gilbert, eh? Another petty attempt to steal my flute from me... What did he promise you guys for it?" the child asked.

 

     "I-I... I-I asked him to make me a suit, f-for a masquerade ball..." Arthur answered.

 

     Klaus chuckled softly. "Oh dear. I hope he hasn't given it to you already, otherwise, you'd be in a lot of trouble... There's no way you're getting my flute from me," they snarled.

 

     "P-please, Klaus, surely we can come to some sort of agreement... I  _need_  that flute, I  _need_  that masquerade suit, I don't care what I have to do to get it, you just have to help me out!" Arthur pleaded.

 

     "Klaus, I don't think it's fair that we give them too much trouble, since Gilbert obviously manipulated them... It's punishment enough that they had to come all the way out here and that they aren't even going to get their wish, isn't it?" the sailor-boy asked, giggling.

 

     "No!" Arthur shouted angrily. "No, I'm not leaving here until I have that flute! I wasn't going to take it from your hands since I thought you were an innocent child, but you're a Joker, and I'll rip it from your fingers if I have to!"

 

     Klaus laughed. "Ooh, feisty, are we? How cute," they said softly.

 

     "Klaus, please... You have to help me... I need this, and there isn't any other way... There has to be something that I can trade you for it, some kind of deal that I can make!" Arthur pleaded.

 

     "You sure are a desperate one, aren't you...?" Klaus asked, pursing their lips ever so slightly.

 

     "Yes, I am desperate, okay!? You don't understand how important this is!  _I need that suit!_ " Arthur shouted.

 

     Klaus chuckled softly. "You may need the suit, but you don't need the flute, buddy," they said in a sing-song voice.

 

     "What do you mean...? Th-that was the deal, I-I need to bring the flute back or Gilbert won't let me have the suit..." Arthur said confusedly.

 

     "Listen, take a seat, buddy," Klaus instructed, gesturing towards one of the chairs in the living room. They then looked at Arthur's friends and made the same motions. Once Arthur and his friends had taken the suggested seats, Klaus began to speak again.

 

     "Look, we've been spending so much time arguing with each other that we haven't even been properly introduced to one another," they pointed out. "So how about you guys tell us who you are, and I'll introduce myself and my family and tell you how we can help you."

 

     Arthur nodded a little and cleared his throat faintly. "M-my name is Arthur... These are my friends, Alistair, Dylan, Aidan, and Liam," he said.

 

     "Good. Now, my name is Klaus, but you already knew that..." Klaus began, and then began pointing to the other Jokers as he said their names. "This is Peter," they said, pointing to the sailor-boy. "Wendy," in regards to the girl. "Erland," pointing to the boy with the red hair. "Jason," pointing to the dark-haired boy. "And Valentino," finally pointing to the other older boy.

 

     "Now, you need a suit, Sir Arthur, but you don't necessarily need one from Gilbert," Klaus pointed out. "What if I told you that I'd give you a suit right now if you promised to do me a small favor once you got back to Shale?"

 

     Arthur's eyes widened slightly. "I-I... Th-that would be fantastic, I don't know what to say- Please, I'll do anything, just tell me what you want me to do!" he begged.

 

     "Alright, alright, no need to get antsy," Klaus said, waving their hand dismissively. "All I want you to do is bring something to Gilbert for me."

 

     Arthur watched as Klaus let go of the key that he was holding with one hand and used that free hand to snap his fingers. In a flash, an exact replica of Klaus' prized silver flute appeared in their free hand. Klaus smirked faintly before holding out the replica to Arthur, and urging him to take it. Arthur stared at the replica for a moment before carefully taking it from Klaus and holding it tightly.

 

     "That's a fake version of the flute that Gilbert wants from me so badly. Take that to Gilbert when you go back to Shale. That's all I require of you," Klaus told Arthur. The tone of their voice seemed innocent enough, but the look in their eyes and the smirk on their face told Arthur that their intentions were anything but innocent. Even so, he asked no questions, and merely nodded at Klaus' request. As long as he got the suit, that was all that mattered.

 

     "What a good boy," Klaus said, and giggled softly. "Now, as soon as I conjure up your suit for you, you can all be on your way. Anything that you had in mind, particularly?" they inquired.

 

     "I... Well, no, not really. Just... Make it something extravagant. Something that the king would never be able to recognize me in. Make it fit for the ballroom of Spades," Arthur requested.

 

     Klaus smiled and hummed faintly. "Simple enough," they said, and tucked their key safely into their jacket before rubbing their hands together quickly and blowing into them.

 

     When Klaus opened their hands, streams of glittering light fell from their palms and materialized into a vibrantly colored suit on the floor. The coat was long, with tails that would reach to just above the floor when Arthur was wearing it. Elegantly patterned splotches of neon pink, green, yellow, blue, and orange covered the coat, and the pants looked the same. The pants were knee-length and tight at the ends of the legs. There were white tights for Arthur to wear under the pants, and a pair of white gloves for him to wear on his hands. There were dress shoes with short heels that were the same colors as the pants and the coat. The dress shirt was white and came with a ruffled ascot, which was also colored vibrantly. The coat had white ruffles at the ends of the sleeves. Finally, there was a white mask that would cover the top of Arthur's head, as well as his face until below his nose. The mask had vibrantly colored feathers protruding from where the top of the forehead met the part that covered the top of the head. The part of the mask that would cover Arthur's face was bright orange in color and had a long, thin beak that would go over his nose. The suit was made to look like the messenger birds that Alfred used to communicate with Arthur.

 

     Arthur's eyes widened when he saw the completed suit. He quickly thrust the replica flute at Alistair, who fumbled with it for a moment before gripping it tightly as he, Arthur, and the rest of the gang stared at the suit in shock. Arthur knelt beside the suit and ran his hands over the fabric, touching the ascot and playing with the frills between his fingers. He'd never seen anything more beautiful in his life.

 

     "Oh my Aces... Oh, this is so beautiful..." he whispered, continuing to stare at the suit for a few moments before looking up at Klaus eagerly. "Thank you so much, Klaus! I couldn't have asked for anything better!" he exclaimed.

 

     Klaus chuckled softly. "The pleasure was all mine, Sir Arthur," they said. "Here, I'll even give you a bag to keep the suit and the flute in, for easy traveling purposes." With another snap of their fingers, Klaus had made a small suitcase appear and had folded up the suit inside of it carefully. Alistair stepped forward to put the flute into the suitcase before closing it and picking it up.

 

     "Oh, Aces, I'm finally ready to go to the Spades masquerade! Alfred's going to love the suit, I can't wait until he gets to see it, I-"

 

     "Hey, wait a second...!" Peter's voice cut Arthur off from his excited babbling about the masquerade. Every head in the room turned to look at Peter, and each one of them had confused and expectant looks on their faces.

 

     "You said your name was Arthur, didn't you?" Peter asked, almost glaring at Arthur.

 

     "I... Yes, I did say that. Why...?" Arthur inquired, starting to become a little anxious.

 

     "And you said that you need this suit for a masquerade? In Spades? So that you can show Alfred?" Peter persisted.

 

     "Yes... That's correct..." Arthur replied hesitantly.

 

     "Then that means you're the bastard who caused my deal with the Prince to go sour!" Peter exclaimed.

 

     "Wait- What?" Arthur asked, completely lost by this point.

 

     Peter had said that Alfred had made a deal with him? How was that even possible? The last time that Alfred had been in Hearts was when he and Arthur had met, and Arthur was sure that Alfred would have made a deal with a Spades-local Joker, if he had ever made a deal at all. But there's no way that Alfred's father would let Alfred anywhere  _near_  a Joker, and besides, what the hell would Alfred even want from a Joker, anyways?

 

     "Half a year ago the Prince of Spades was in the Hearts Kingdom and was looking for a Joker to trade with! He gave me his father's watch in return for a little vial of poison, but he didn't use it, so I had to give the watch back! You bastard! I really liked that watch!" Peter exclaimed.

 

     "I-I still don't understand what's going on... Wh-what the hell would Alfred need a vial of poison for, and what does it have to do with me...?" Arthur asked, feeling his heart starting to beat faster as his stomach tightened up. So Alfred had made a deal with Peter after running away from the Hearts castle... He must have made the deal right before he and Arthur met...

 

     Peter shrugged. "Kid was tired of his 'daddy issues' and wanted a way out. Who was I to deny him an end to his suffering?" he inquired innocently, and Arthur's stomach dropped. Peter was saying... Alfred had made a deal with him as a way to commit suicide!?

 

     "But then  _you_  had to go and run into him, making him change his mind about the whole thing, and then  _I_  had to send the watch back! Fucking prick!" Peter shouted.

 

     Arthur hadn't heard anything after Peter had said that Arthur was the one who made Alfred change his mind. His face had gone pale. His body was shaking. He felt as though his heart was going to pound out of his chest at any moment. Alfred had intended on  _killing himself_ before Arthur had run into him in that alley. If Arthur hadn't been there, Alfred would have died. They would have never even known each other, and Alfred would have died alone, unhappy, and unloved. This was too much for Arthur to take in. He felt like he was about to puke.

 

     "Hey, Arthur... You okay, mate...?" Alistair asked, shaking Arthur's shoulder gently and snapping him out of his thoughts.

 

     "I-I'm fi-ine..." Arthur squeaked out, his breath caught in his throat. "C-c'mon, w-e need to get out of here...  _Now..._ " he stuttered, and stood up straight before stumbling his way to the door and grabbing the doorknob. Thankfully, when he twisted the doorknob, the door opened easily, and Arthur was able to run outside quickly. Alistair and the others gave a last glance to the Jokers within the house before following Arthur outside.

 

     "Arthur, wait!!" Liam and Aidan called out simultaneously as they followed Arthur out of the house and down the path that led back to the village.

 

     "Arthur, slow down! You've gotta tell us what's going on!" Dylan shouted.

 

     When Arthur didn't stop walking, Alistair ran to catch up with him until he was able to grab Arthur by the shoulder and stop him in his tracks. "Arthur, please, none of us understand what's going on. You've got to tell us what's wrong," he said softly.

 

     Arthur took a deep and shaky breath before turning around to look at Alistair and the others. He ran a shaky hand through his hair and cleared his throat before trying to speak to them. "I-I... Remember how I said that Alfred's father was incredibly strict on him, and that's why I have to sneak around to see him, wh-why my life is in danger every time I go to see him...?" he asked.

 

     "Aye, we remember that," Alistair replied.

 

     "I... I didn't tell you just how abusive he is towards Alfred. He's a monster- He beats Alfred and calls him terrible names and doesn't let him have any freedom, Alfred's like a slave in his own home! And Peter... P-Peter said that Alfred would have killed himself if I hadn't bumped into him when I did and I-I don't know, I feel terrified, for some reason... I-I just can't believe that he ever would have done that, a-and I'm stuck in this 'what if' state, thinking about what would have happened if I hadn't been there to stop him... I-I didn't even know...!" Arthur exclaimed.

 

     "Arthur, you have to try to calm down... I know that this is a horrible thing to be finding out, but it's in the past now and there's nothing you could have done about it. We have to get back home now that we have the suit. If you want to talk about this, then you can speak to Alfred about it when you see him at the masquerade, okay?” Alistair said

 

     “Y-yeah… I-I suppose you’re right… I-I’ll talk to him about it when I see him again… That’s all I can do…” Arthur murmured.

 

     “Good. Now, come on, we’ve got to get out of here,” Alistair urged. With that, he and Arthur began walking again, and the others followed them.

 

     The walk along the forest path was silent after that. There was an odd sense of triumph hanging in the air, with the boys knowing that they had completed the mission that they had set out for with little difficulty, but it was impossible to celebrate. Arthur certainly wasn’t up for it, and his despair put a damper on the moods of his friends. How could they really be happy, knowing that Arthur was in so much pain because of something that hadn’t even happened?

 

     The ride back to Shale was straightforward and just as silent as the walk through the forest had been. The boys were admittedly hungry, and certainly tired, but Arthur had wanted to get out of that now haunting town as soon as possible. He had expressed to the others that they were welcome to stay behind to eat and rest before getting back on the road, but knowing that Arthur would be making the journey back to Shale alone, Alistair and the others insisted on coming with him.

 

     At least when the gang got back to Shale, before they did anything else they went to the tavern to grab something to eat before they would go back to Arthur’s house to hide the suit away in his closet. Alistair had once again insisted upon buying drinks for the gang, asking if there was any better way to celebrate a successful journey both to and from Aucteredan. No one resisted him.

 

     The boys ate, drank, and made merry at their usual table in the tavern as if nothing had changed. Even Arthur seemed to be back in his old spirits after being able to get a bite to eat and have something to drink. The boys made fun of the Jokers that they had encountered earlier and boasted about how brave they had all been, and how this adventure could have been turned into a great legend if any of them were to write it down. Despite all this fun, though, one question still lingered in the air for Arthur.

 

     “So, when are you planning on givin’ that replica flute to Gilbert?” Liam asked.

 

     Arthur shrugged faintly. “I suppose I’ll do it tonight. The Pig Rock isn’t that far from here and I’d rather get it over and done with today,” he answered.

 

     “Well, I hope you don’t think you’re going to go alone, because Liam and I are definitely coming with you,” Aidan told him.

 

     “Hey, don’t think that you guys get to have all the fun and leave me behind,” Alistair warned.

 

     “I’m going too!!” Dylan exclaimed.

 

     Arthur chuckled softly. “Of course you guys are coming with me. I wouldn’t dream of going alone,” he promised.

 

     “I only wish there was a way that we could go to the masquerade with you, but if it’s stealth that you want, I don’t think all of us going together would be the best idea. Besides, I don’t think the rest of us could get suits on time unless we wanted to make deals with Jokers, too. But that wouldn’t go over well for us,” Dylan said.

 

     “Well, when Arthur’s the Queen of Spades one day, I’m sure that we’ll be the guests of honor to a Spades ball someday,” Alistair teased, nudging Arthur in his shoulder.

 

     Arthur glared at him. “I’m not going to be the Queen of Spades, Alistair. Alfred and I  _aren’t_  dating, and even if we were, his father would never approve of riff-raff like me. I wouldn’t have a chance with Alfred even if I wanted one,” he said. His voice had started out with a firm tone, but it had become almost sad by the time he had finished speaking. It sounded as though he was disappointed in where his train of thoughts had led him to.

 

     “Then why do you risk life and limb to be around him? If you’re never going to have a chance with him? You can’t seriously care that much about him, much less platonically,” Dylan said.

 

     Arthur sighed heavily. “I’m not having this argument with you lot again, understand? I just want Alfred to have a friend. That’s all. Shut the fuck up.”

 

     Without another word, Arthur stood up from his seat and grabbed the suitcase that contained his suit and the flute replica inside of it. The other boys frowned as they watched him, starting to feel bad for apparently offending Arthur so much that he was going to leave them. They were worried about Arthur, too. It wasn’t like him to be this defensive when they teased him.

 

     “Where the fuck d’you think you’re going, Arthur? You’re not just going to leave us alone, are you?” Liam asked, furrowing his brows.

 

     “I’m just taking the suit back to my place. You guys can meet me at the Pig Rock if you want to,” Arthur replied.

 

     “Aight… We’ll be there… See you in a few, then,” Aidan said.

 

     “Yeah. See you in a few,” Arthur said, and left the tavern without another word.

 

     The ride back to his house took less than five minutes. He was off of his bike and back inside the house within ten seconds of pulling into his driveway. His parents were happy to see him back so soon, but of course, he couldn’t stay for long. He told them that he was just dropping something off and that he was going to go spend a few more hours with his mates before he’d be back home for good.

 

     The flute replica was stuffed into his belt, and the belt was tightened (rather uncomfortably) so that the flute wouldn’t fall out as Arthur mounted his bike again and began his ride to the Pig Rock. He wasn’t far behind his gang, and managed to catch up with them quite quickly once he was on the road. They continued the last leg of their journey together, and made it to the Pig Rock just as the sun had set and the stars were starting to come out.

 

     “Oi! Gilbert!” Arthur called after he and his friends had dismounted their bikes and were walking towards the Pig Rock. The tone of Arthur’s voice was impatient. He was eager to get this over and done with so that he wouldn’t have to worry about it anymore. He wanted to be able to go home and just sleep.

 

     “Well well well… You little pigs are home early… I wasn’t expecting you to be back from Aucteredan until the day before the masquerade!” the familiar voice of the sinister Joker called out from behind the gang. All of them turned on their heels to see that Gilbert was sitting at the very top of the Pig Rock, which they had just walked past.

 

     “Well, this must be a pleasant surprise for you, then, hm?” Arthur inquired.

 

     “Well, only if you have what I asked for…” Gilbert murmured, and narrowed his eyes at Arthur. “You did get it, didn’t you?”

 

     “Of course I did,” Arthur said, smirking to himself as he pulled the replica flute from his belt and held it out for Gilbert to take. “I  _am_  a man of my word, after all,” he said.

 

     Gilbert’s eyes widened in shock as he stared at the instrument in Arthur’s hand. “I can’t believe it… You actually got it from him… I-I was sending you on a wild goose chase, I didn’t think you’d be able to bring it back in time!” he shouted incredulously, and quickly reached down to snatch the flute from Arthur’s fingers.

 

     “Obviously, you’ve underestimated me and my friends,” Arthur said casually.

 

     “Obviously…” Gilbert murmured as he ran his hands over the silver of the flute and attempted to examine its hollow inside. “How the fuck did you get this from Klaus!?” he demanded, tearing his eyes away from the flute and glaring at Arthur once again.

 

     “Oh, it was easy, really… I just made a deal with them… It turns out I had something that they found much more valuable than that old flute,” Arthur told him. “Although, I am a bit miffed that you didn’t tell me Klaus was a Joker from the beginning. That was bad form on your part, my friend,” he said, almost teasingly.

 

     “What the fuck could Klaus have found more valuable than this flute?” Gilbert asked.

 

     “That, I’m afraid, is confidential information. Strictly between the dealers… Can’t let anyone else know,” Arthur answered, smirking again.

 

     Gilbert raised an eyebrow as he continued to stare at Arthur.  Obviously, something was wrong here, though Gilbert couldn’t place his finger on just what it was… The flute was real, as far as he could tell… But he still didn’t know what Arthur could have traded to Klaus so that Klaus would have given up their most prized possession. Gilbert was starting to think that he had gotten the short end of the stick here.

 

     Gilbert hummed softly to himself and looked back at the flute again before raising it to his lips and beginning to play a tune on it. The tune was familiar to Arthur and all of his friends; it was a popular Hearts lullaby that had been sang to all of them by their parents when they were children. Hearing it again, played by the soft music of the flute, was found to be soothing and relaxing to the boys as they heard it.

 

     However, the peacefulness didn’t last for long. In the midst of Gilbert’s melodious playing, he hit a sour note, and not a second later, the flute exploded in his face. The explosion turned into what looked like a burst of brightly colored paints; in fact, they were the same colors that decorated Arthur’s suit. Gilbert let out a surprised shriek as the flute collapsed in his hands and turned into glops of the strange and colorful liquid that covered the rest of his body.

 

     “What the fuck!?” he shouted incredulously.

 

     All of the boys’ eyes had widened at the sight. This was something unexpected for everyone involved. None of the boys knew that Klaus had rigged the flute, much less that it would explode into neon paint when the trap was triggered.

 

     “You little shits fucking lied to me! You gave me a fake flute! Traitors! Did you really think you could double-cross a Joker and get away with it!? I’ll have all of your pathetic little heads on sticks in five seconds!” Gilbert screamed.

 

     “N-now wait a second, h-hold up!” Arthur called out, his voice a mixture of mild amusement and pure terror.

 

     “T-technically, technically, we are not traitors. N-nor did we, nor did we double-cross you. You didn’t give us my suit, and we didn’t give you the real flute, so technically, neither of us fulfilled our ends of the bargain. Furthermore, we didn’t know that the replica was rigged. I made a deal with Klaus when we met them, and they said that they’d make me a suit if I promised to give that flute to you when we got back to Shale. And we did. So, we haven’t done anything wrong. We simply made a deal with a different Joker,” he explained.

 

     Gilbert snarled viciously. His hands were tied. Arthur was right. He and his friends hadn’t done anything wrong, and they hadn’t technically broken the deal since Gilbert hadn’t fulfilled his end of the bargain. There was nothing that he could do to Arthur without the risk of having his powers taken away. He had never been so humiliated in all of his life.

 

     “You pigs better get out of here before I decide to spike your heads anyways! And mark my words! I  _will_  get back at Klaus!” Gilbert hissed.

 

     “Whatever you say, Gilbert,” Arthur teased. With that, he and his friends gave a hearty cackle at the paint-clad Joker and dashed away, returning to their bikes for the last time that night so that they could finally ride home and get some well-deserved rest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> holy fuck I'm so late in updating this again I'm so sorry, school has been kicking my ass again and I barely have time for pleasure writing, but I'm determined to get this back up and running again!! I had a ton of fun writing this chapter and introducing the micronations into the mix- I realized as soon as I had finished writing this chapter that I had left Hutt River out of the little Joker family and I felt bad about that... But mark my words, I'll find a way to add Hutt River into the story somehow!! Also, can I just say that Arthur's masquerade suit is fucking gorgeous?? Hella
> 
> But this chapter officially puts this fic at the 50k word mark!! That means that this fic is my first continuing series to have reached 50,000 words! I really couldn't be prouder of myself- Thank you all so much for continuing to read this fic and giving me support for it! It means the world to me.


	10. Of Angels and Messengers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The night of the masquerade has finally arrived, and Arthur confesses something to Alfred that brings them closer together than ever before. Unfortunately, the night's peaceful atmosphere doesn't last as long as they would have liked. After all, what's a party without a little drama?

    _"When we are in love, we are both completely in danger and completely saved."_

_-Ava Dellaira, **Love Letters to the Dead**_

\---

 

     The night of the masquerade approached quickly, but evidently, it wasn’t quick enough for Arthur’s wishes. After his encounter with the hoard of Jokers in Aucteredan, particularly with Peter, his anxiety about the meeting had skyrocketed. He was already worried about the hundreds of ways that he could screw something up and have himself found out, but now there was something else on his mind, as well.

    The revelation of Alfred’s suicide attempt from six months ago had put Arthur’s anxiety over the edge. He might have been able to get past the idea that he would fuck up sneaking into the masquerade since he knew that it would be all fun and games once he was finally with Alfred, but how could Arthur possibly have fun at the masquerade when he now knew truly how much pain Alfred was in? Before anything, Arthur had to get to the bottom of that, even if it meant sacrificing a night of fun and replacing it with a night of awkwardness and forced explanations.

    Nevertheless, Arthur had yet again lied to his parents about spending time with his friends and had grabbed the suitcase that contained his suit within it before getting onto his bike and setting out for the outskirts of Safirheim. The tavern wasn’t hard to find once he had made it to the city. It was one of the most prominent buildings in the center of the city and every commoner in the vicinity seemed to be flocking to it.

    When Arthur parked his bike outside of the tavern, he immediately looked around the porch, as well as the roads leading to the tavern, for the Jack who was supposed to be escorting him to the castle. It didn’t appear that Yao was here yet. _Well, at least I have time to change, then…_ Arthur thought to himself, and dismounted his bike before detaching the suitcase from the back of it and taking the suitcase inside the tavern.

    Unsurprisingly, the interior of the tavern was lively, but had an air of sophistication to it.  Nothing about the tavern seemed dingy or unkempt. Despite the hearty laughter of old men who smelled of beer and cigarettes that was present in any tavern, the tavern of Safirheim seemed inviting. Not only was it an acceptable hangout for the grungier people of the middle and lower classes, but Arthur could also see it being used as a meeting place for people of a higher status to convene and discuss whatever important business they needed to attend to. It seemed to calm Arthur’s nerves about the situation, if only a little.

    It wasn’t hard to make his way through the bathroom. The only crowding in the tavern was at the bar, and the bathrooms had been placed at the farthest possible distance from it. Upon entering the bathroom, Arthur found that it was empty for the moment, and the stalls were more sophisticated than was normally found in a public bathroom. Instead of small stalls separated by thin metal walls and small metal doors with fickle locks, these stalls were of decent size and were separated by plasterboard walls and thick wooden doors with strong locks. It was an ideally comfortable place for Arthur to change into his costume.

    Getting into his costume was more trouble than Arthur thought it would be. Being a commoner of the middle class, Arthur and his family never had any reason to dress up besides putting on a simple suit for formal events within their community that they didn’t even really care about. Arthur hadn’t worn a formal suit in over a year now, and it was a lot harder to put a suit on by himself than it was when he had his father to help him. He hoped that he wasn’t keeping Yao waiting, or worse; he hoped that Yao hadn’t thought that Arthur had decided not to come after all. He hoped that Yao hadn’t left the tavern yet.

    Finally, Arthur had managed to get his costume on and had put the mask on when he was finished. He packed up all of his old clothes inside of the suitcase and quickly left the bathroom, returning to the main room of the tavern quickly. The weird looks that he got from most of the people in the tavern didn’t phase him. He just needed to get out of there as soon as possible so that he could put his suitcase back on his bike and hope that Yao was waiting for him.

    Arthur breathed a heavy sigh of relief when he saw that Yao was standing by his bike, waiting for him. Even though the Jack of Spades was already dressed up in his masquerade costume, mask and all, Arthur could tell that it was him. “Yao!” Arthur called out as he bounded down the tavern steps and ran to his bike, throwing his suitcase onto the back of it before standing in front of Yao and bowing slightly to him.

    Yao’s eyes widened slightly at the sight of Arthur and his suit. Yao hadn’t been expecting for Arthur to show up in something quite as... Elaborate. He was a commoner from Hearts, after all. Even if he had known about the masquerade for a while, how on earth did he get something that was elegant enough to be on par with what the higher-class guests at the masquerade were going to be wearing? It was a miracle, by Yao’s standards.

    “My, my, Arthur, you certainly dressed to impress tonight, didn’t you…?” Yao asked him, chuckling softly.

    Arthur stood up straight and smiled faintly at him. “Well, of course I did. I have to fit in with the royalty if I don’t want to be caught, don’t I?” he inquired.

    “Yes, I suppose that’s true,” Yao said. “So, are you ready to go?”

    “As ready as I’ll ever be…” Arthur muttered softly. His anxiety was starting to come back to him, but he took a deep breath and tried to shake it off. He was too close to back down now.

    “Then let’s get going,” Yao instructed, and began to walk away from the tavern, beckoning for Arthur to follow him.

    “We will be arriving at the castle by horse-drawn carriage. If anyone asks, your name is Leon. You’re my cousin who lives in a small village on the border of Spades. The village is called Elry. Your family owns a large horse ranch. You’re here on my invitation. Understand?” Yao asked as they were walking.

    “Well, you’ve certainly come up with quite a story for me, haven’t you…?” Arthur asked, slightly surprised that Yao had put so much detail into his cover story.

    Yao shrugged faintly. “It’s only because I actually have a little cousin named Leon who lives on a horse ranch in Elry. He wasn’t able to make it to the masquerade himself tonight, which means that you can go in his place. As long as  you don’t take your mask off, no one will be able to recognize that you aren’t actually him. The only people who have ever spoken to him personally are Alfred and the King, anyways,” he explained.

    “But… If the King has spoken to your cousin before, surely he’ll be able to tell by my voice that I am not him, right?” Arthur asked, a knot starting to form in his stomach. He tried to assure himself that Yao knew what he was doing, but this inconsistency seemed like it would be enough to undo the entire plan…

    “Why on earth would you want to talk to the King? Our job is to keep you away from him for the entire night. Sure, the King knows that Leon is coming to the masquerade tonight, but he would never bother himself with spending time with Leon unless I asked him to. You’ll be fine,” Yao promised.

    “If you say so…” Arthur murmured.

    It wasn’t long before Yao and Arthur had reached the horse-drawn carriage that would take them back to the castle. A footman opened the door for them, and Yao urged Arthur inside before sitting in the carriage himself. Once the both of them were settled, the footman closed the door and mounted the carriage once again. The driver spurred the horses, and the carriage was soon barreling down the road and off towards the castle.

    The ride was short and silent. Yao and Arthur didn’t say a word to one another the entire time. Arthur instead busied himself with staring out the carriage’s window and taking in the scenery of the road that led to the glorious Castle of Spades. Arthur’s stomach seemed to become tighter with every second that passed. It took every ounce of willpower within him not to be sick in the carriage, and it was just a miracle from the Aces that he wasn’t sick once the carriage had passed through the castle’s gates.

    The carriage came to a stop outside the main entrance to the castle. The footman dismounted the carriage and opened the door for Yao and Arthur once again. Yao exited the carriage and urged Arthur to do the same. With how shaky Arthur’s legs were, and how tight his stomach was, Yao practically had to pull him out and hold him steady as they walked towards the castle’s doors and waited for the guards to open them.

    “You must relax yourself, Arthur. If you’re acting like this for the entirety of the party, someone is bound to find you out,” Yao whispered to him as the doors were pulled open.

    “I-I’m sorry. I-I’m just a little nervous, after what happened the last time I was here…” Arthur whispered back, trying to walk on his own when Yao started pushing him through the now open doors.

    “The last time you were here, I was not informed that you would be visiting. But now that you have my help, nothing will go wrong. I assure you,” Yao promised as they made their way through the hallway and towards the castle’s ballroom.

    Even in the hallway outside the ballroom, before they were even close enough to see the doors clearly, Arthur and Yao could hear the hustle and bustle of the party. The music was live and it was loud and exuberant, and the sound of footsteps on the marble of the floor was heard in rhythm with every song that played. There was lively chatter and hearty laughter and cheering and clapping. With every step that Arthur took, he became more and more excited about the site that he was about to see within the ballroom.

    “When we get into the ballroom, I want you to go to the corner of the room that is farthest from where the musicians are playing. I’m sure that Alfred and his father will be close to the stand. Wait in that corner, and I will bring Alfred to you, do you understand?” Yao whispered once again as they finally approached the elaborately decorated doors of the Spades’ ballroom.

    Arthur nodded determinedly. “Right, Yes, of course,” he promised.

    Yao smiled and patted Arthur’s back gently. “Good. Now, boy, I humbly present to you your first glimpse of a royal Spades ball…”

    The servants who were standing outside of the ballroom’s doors pulled the doors open, and Arthur was thrust into the blinding magic of the luxurious party. If Arthur had thought that the ballroom was beautiful the last time he had come here, well, it looked like Heaven today. The bright colors of every costume that danced around him were already enough to make him feel as though he were in a dream, but when he heard the music clearly without it being muffled behind walls, and when he saw the light of the sapphire chandelier on the ceiling drape the room in a surreal blue color, Arthur felt so overwhelmed that he might faint.

    “Go quickly to where I told you to, Arthur. I’ll see you again soon,” Yao instructed quickly, and when he pushed past Arthur to go find Alfred and his father, Arthur was awoken from his daze, and he gazed after Yao as he walked away hurriedly.

    Once Yao was out of sight, Arthur quickly made his way to the corner of the room that was farthest away from the stage where the musicians were playing. He tried desperately to spot Yao in the crowd, or to spot Alfred and his father near the musicians, where Yao had said they would be, but it was hopeless. Arthur doubted that he would even be able to recognize Alfred or his father in this mess of costumes, especially if they both had masks on, and the crowd was too big to catch a glimpse of Yao. Arthur would just have to allow himself to be dazed by the magic once again until Yao brought Alfred back to him.

    Fortunately, Alfred and his father were indeed standing together near the stage where the musicians were playing. Alfred’s father had already tried to get him to go out and dance with some of the young girls that had been invited to the party that night, but Alfred was adamant that he wanted to stay by his father’s side and engage in small talk with the diplomats and other party-goers who wished to strike up a conversation with the King. Fortunately, Alfred’s father didn’t seem to be disappointed in this excuse, and though he continued to tell Alfred that he should go dance, he never seemed upset when Alfred declined.

    Finally, Yao made it through the crowd and found Alfred and the King. When Yao approached them, the King looked at him and smiled faintly. Yao bowed to first the King, and then Alfred, before standing humbly in front of both of them.

    “Ah, there you are, Yao. We were wondering where you went off to,” the King said to him.

    “My apologies, your highness. I had to greet my cousin and bring him into the ballroom. However, now that he is all settled, I have something that I must ask of the Prince.”

    Yao turned his attention away from the King and looked at Alfred, whose face was blank, but his eyes contained an excitement that threatened to burst through the rest of his body at any moment. Alfred already knew that Arthur was posing as Yao’s cousin Leon tonight. If Yao had just returned from greeting his “cousin”, it meant that Arthur was here now, and that Yao was going to take Alfred to see him.

    “Your Highness, I understand that you are content staying here with your father to greet the other guests, but I have met a young lady that I am sure you would get along quite well with. Please allow me to escort you to her, that you may ask her to share at least one dance with you. You will not regret it, I promise you,” Yao told him.

    Alfred was bursting with anticipation, of course, but he couldn’t let his father see that. If Alfred were to act so excited to dance with some random girl that Yao had suggested after he had refused his father’s suggested maidens all night, Alfred’s father was sure to know that something was up. Alfred had to do his best to act as though he was only accepting this out of utter annoyance.

    Alfred forced a heavy sigh, and stared at Yao in thought for a while before looking at his father, his lips pursed into a thin line. “If I go dance with this girl that Yao is so eager to introduce me to, will the two of you stop asking me to dance for the rest of the night?” he inquired.

    Alfred’s father chuckled softly. “Very well, son. If you dance with this girl, then neither I nor Yao will pester you about dancing with anyone else for the rest of the night,” he assured.

    “Very well, then,” Alfred said with a huff, and turned his attention back to Yao. “Escort me to this girl, Yao,” he ordered.

    “Very well, young master,” Yao said, and offered a hand to Alfred, which Alfred took seemingly reluctantly. However, Yao could feel the excitement coursing through Alfred’s body, as his fingers began to twitch when Yao’s hand closed around his.

    Yao quickly pulled Alfred into the crowd of dancing couples that filled the dance floor, making sure that they were completely barred from the King’s sight before Yao began to lead Alfred to the corner that he had told Arthur to wait in. Alfred followed his escort quickly, his heart beginning to beat faster and faster until it felt as though it would jump out of his chest. Finally, they made it out of the crowd, and Yao had spotted Arthur in the corner.

    “There he is, Alfred,” Yao said quietly, pointing to Arthur, who was standing around anxiously and looking in the direction opposite of where Yao and Alfred were standing.

    “Arthur…!” Alfred gasped under his breath, and a broad smile painted itself across his face.

    When Alfred went running towards his neon-clad friend, the footsteps echoed across the walls of the corner that Arthur was standing in, and he turned his attention towards the Prince who was running towards him. Because of his glasses, Alfred wasn’t wearing a mask, which made it easy for Arthur to recognize him. Arthur’s heart soared into his throat when he saw Alfred running towards him, and he quickly opened his arms in anticipation for the violent hug that Alfred was about to thrust upon him.

    Alfred threw his arms around Arthur’s neck as soon as he was close enough to reach it. Arthur maneuvered his head so that Alfred wouldn’t slam his face into the beak of Arthur’s mask, and he quickly wrapped his arms around Alfred’s torso and held him closely and tightly. Arthur could feel not only the rapid beating of his own heart, but of Alfred’s, as well. Arthur refused to let Alfred go.

    “Oh my Aces, Alfred, I’m so happy to see you again… I’m so glad you’re okay… I’m so happy…” Arthur whispered. He knew that it wasn’t exactly appropriate to bring up his discussion with the Jokers from the other day just yet, but he couldn’t resist expressing his relief that Alfred was alive and well today.

    Fortunately, Alfred found nothing strange about Arthur’s greeting, and seemed to think that Arthur was saying all of this in reference to what had happened the last time that Arthur was in the castle. “‘Course I’m okay, Arthur. You know I wouldn’t let something like that stop me from seeing you again. I’m just so glad that you could make it! I’m so happy that you’re here…” Alfred whispered.

    “I’m happy too, Alfred,” Arthur said, and Alfred pulled away from him to smile at him.

    Arthur took the opportunity to let go of Alfred and step back to get a better look at him. He hadn’t been able to see Alfred’s suit very well until now, but getting a proper look at him now… Well, it made Arthur’s heart start pounding again.

    Alfred wasn’t wearing anything nearly as… Extravagant, as Arthur was wearing, but that didn’t make it any less beautiful. It was simple and elegant, and in Arthur’s eyes, it suited him perfectly. As said before, Alfred wasn’t wearing a mask because he had to wear his glasses instead, but he was wearing a crown made up of blue roses, blue daisies, and forget-me-nots on his head. His coat was navy blue, and shorter than Arthur’s; it didn’t have any tails. His pants were the same color as his coat, and they were long enough that he didn’t have to wear tights underneath them. The buttons on his coat, the color of his shoes, and the dress shirt that he wore under his coat were all a bright gold color. He wore a blood red cape that was so long it reached to just above the floor, and protruding from the back of the cape was a pair of medium-sized white wings that looked like they belonged to an angel.

    “I-I must say, Alfred, you look stunning tonight,” Arthur said to him, and cleared his throat after his voice seemed to crack on the last word.

    Alfred’s smile grew even broader. “Thanks, Arthur! But man, your costume is the best costume here! No one else is even close to looking as cool as you!” he exclaimed.

    Arthur smiled faintly and blushed softly. “I’m glad you think so, Alfred,” he said.

    The song that the musicians had been playing finally came to an end at that moment, and the couples on the dance floor, as well as the groups who were standing off to the side, clapped for the musicians as they took short bows and moved back into position to start up another song. Alfred glanced at them briefly before turning his attention back to Arthur, his expression looking even more excited than before. “They’re gonna start another song, Arthur! Will you dance with me?” he asked, offering his hand to his friend.

    “Of course I will, Alfred. It would be my pleasure,” Arthur replied, and smiled again as he took Alfred’s hand.

    Alfred giggled excitedly and pulled Arthur onto the dance floor, finding a good spot for them to be hidden by the crowd so that Alfred’s father wouldn’t see them. The two of them got into position as the music began again, and they quickly fell in step with the music and in rhythm with the other couples on the floor. Arthur had to lead, of course, since it was the only part that he had been taught, but Alfred didn’t mind. He was perfectly happy being dipped and spun around by his partner, who had evidently been practicing since the last time that they had danced together.

    Unfortunately for Arthur, as much fun as he was having dancing with Alfred, it had started to become increasingly awkward for him after a little while. It wouldn’t have been so bad if it had only been that one dance, but Alfred insisted on doing several songs with Arthur, wanting to dance with him until they were going to pass out from exhaustion. With each song that went by, Arthur’s heart started beating faster again, as his mind began to fill with the thoughts that he’d been trying to suppress ever since Alistair and the others found out who Alfred was.

    Arthur already thought that Alfred looked beautiful in his costume, but his beauty was even more prominent when he was dancing. Arthur had never seen a bigger smile, or heard a more melodious laugh, or gazed into more sparkling eyes, or watched such graceful footwork. Arthur couldn’t remember a time when he had ever been happier, or when he had wanted to impress someone so much, or when his face had felt more flustered…

    When the musicians started playing a slower song, and Alfred and Arthur were dancing closer to each other without as many spins or other moves that were more complicated than the simple box-step, Arthur felt like he was going to explode. Arthur couldn’t seem to look anywhere but Alfred’s face, and more specifically his smiling lips… Why the fuck did they have to be so close to Arthur, and furthermore, why did they have to look so appealing?

    What was worse was that Alfred seemed to notice how uncomfortable Arthur had suddenly become. He frowned when he saw how serious Arthur had suddenly started to look, and how red his face seemed to be… “Arthur, are you feeling okay?” he asked worriedly.

    “H-huh?” Arthur stuttered, and shook his head briefly to clear it of the thoughts that had been swimming around his head. “Yeah, I-I’m fine, I’m sorry… It’s just a little stuffy in here, I suppose,” he answered, and forced a smile at his partner.

    “Oh? Well, if it’s too stuffy for you in the ballroom, we could always go outside… I told you last time you were here that I’d show you the garden when it was alive, didn’t I?” Alfred asked him.

    Arthur’s forced smile became more natural after that, feeling genuinely happy and comforted at the thought of being able to see the garden again. “Yes, I believe you did say that. I’d love to go see the garden, Alfred,” he said.

    “Then what are we still doing here? Let’s go!” Alfred exclaimed, and pulled Arthur off of the dance floor, out of the ballroom, and towards the entrance to the castle’s garden.

    Fortunately, everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves in the ballroom, and though the garden was fully decorated for the party, no one appeared to be outside when Alfred and Arthur had finally made it to the garden. That meant that Alfred and Arthur would get to enjoy the beauty of the garden together without any interruptions.

    Alfred had been right when he said that the beauty of the garden when it was frozen in time was nothing compared to how it looked when it was alive. Everything was so much more colorful, and the addition of the bright yellow and blue lights that had been strung up on every flower bush and carved shrub made it even more magical. The water was running in the fountains, and the birds in the aviary were chirping excitedly to each other. It instantly put Arthur at peace, though it didn’t do much to get rid of the blush in his cheeks.

    “Arthur, are you sure you’re okay? You still look really flustered. Are you sure you’re not sick or something?” Alfred asked him after they had been walking for a few minutes and were hidden from view of the castle, safely behind some of the bigger rose bushes in the garden.

    “I’m sure I’m not sick, Alfred. I’m fine, I promise,” Arthur assured.

    “Then why is your face still red? Won’t you at least let me make sure you don’t have a fever or something?” Alfred pleaded.

    “Well, I would, but how do you think you’re going to do that?” Arthur asked him, a bit confused.

    “Well, when I was little, my mom used to kiss my forehead when she couldn’t find the thermometer and she could tell if I had a fever that way. But I guess that does seem a little weird… So uh, only if you’d be comfortable with it…” Alfred said, and averted his eyes, suddenly feeling a little embarrassed.

    “N-no! No, that’s not weird! Yes, yes, you can if you want to… Thank you for being worried about me…” Arthur said frantically, partly because he didn’t want Alfred to feel upset, but mostly because he had become extremely excited at the prospect of Alfred kissing his forehead, even if it was only to check and see if he was getting sick…

    “Really? Are you sure it wouldn’t weird you out?” Alfred asked him, feeling a little skeptical.

    “I’m positive,” Arthur assured.

    “If you say so…” Alfred said, and moved closer to Arthur, until he was close enough to press his lips to Arthur’s forehead and kiss it softly.

    Arthur’s face became even more flushed at the contact, and Alfred pulled away with a concerned expression on his face. “Well your face does feel kinda hot… But it’s not like, fever hot… I guess you are still just flushed from dancing…” he mused.

    Arthur bit his own lips as his gaze drifted to Alfred’s once again. A kiss on the forehead just wasn’t enough for him. It hadn’t calmed him down at all. If anything, it had made him more needy. He knew he couldn’t hold himself back for another second.

     _Fucking Hell… I’m going to regret this…_ he thought to himself, but not even his negative thoughts could stop him now.

    Without warning, Arthur pulled his mask off and threw it to the ground before grabbing Alfred by the lapels of his coat and pulled him closer. He kissed Alfred’s lips deeply as Alfred let out a loud squeak of surprise and his eyes widened in shock. His glasses had been knocked askew by the force of Arthur’s kiss, and Alfred wasn’t quite sure how to react to it, but one thing was for sure; he couldn’t let Arthur think that this was unwanted.

    Alfred never would have guessed that something like this would happen to him. He had been denying feelings for Arthur ever since they had met. He’d always known that it was a long shot that anything would ever happen between them. He knew that Arthur would think that Alfred was completely out of his league, if Arthur ever even had feelings for him at all, which Alfred had always thought was entirely unlikely, so Alfred had always kept any romantic feeling for Arthur tucked away deeply within his mind; so deep that they would never be able to resurfice.

    Well, unless something like this happened. Arthur was kissing him, and without having been prompted to, or even knowing that Alfred liked him back. Because of this, all of Alfred’s suppressed feelings came rushing to the front of his mind. He couldn’t leave Arthur hanging, so he kissed back. Well, at least as well as he could… He’d never kissed anyone before in his life, but with the way Arthur’s lips moved, Alfred felt like he must be an expert or something.

    And Arthur was so relieved when he felt Alfred’s lips trying to move with his own. He had been so afraid that Alfred would be angry with him, or disgusted, or any number of other negative emotions. He was so afraid that Alfred would have thought he was a creep, and that this would have ruined their friendship. He had never been happier to be wrong in his life.

    Arthur could sense Alfred’s awkwardness. He could sense that Alfred didn’t really know what he was doing, and that it made him uncomfortable. Arthur found it rather cute, and he let out a soft chuckle as he pulled away from Alfred and stared into his still surprise-filled eyes. Now, it was Alfred’s turn to be extremely flustered.

    “I-I’m sorry… I-I’ve never done this before…” he said quietly, and averted his eyes, once again feeling highly embarrassed.

    “No, no, it’s okay, Alfred,” Arthur assured him, smiling faintly. “I surprised you that time. Can I kiss you again? I’ll be slower this time. It won’t be hard to copy me,” he promised.

    Alfred looked at him and nodded. “Yes, please,” he whispered.

    Arthur’s smile grew, and he gently removed Alfred’s glasses from his face, tucking them into the pocket on Alfred’s coat before kissing his lips again. There was no force behind his kiss this time. It was slow and gentle and sweet, and while Alfred was tense at first, it didn’t take long for him to relax in Arthur’s arms and let Arthur teach him how to kiss. Once again, Alfred wrapped his arms around Arthur’s neck, and Arthur wrapped his arms around Alfred’s waist, holding him close and refusing to let go for anything.

    Arthur was the first to pull away, when he felt that Alfred was starting to struggle again. Alfred wanted to say something, anything, but he couldn’t find the words to describe how he was feeling at that moment. All he could do was stutter as the blush grew ever more prominent on his face. Instead, he reached behind himself, to the flower bush that he was standing in front of, and picked a rose off of it. He was careful to make sure that he didn’t prick himself on any of the thorns, and he held it out to Arthur with a goofy grin on his face.

    Arthur smiled once again and took the rose from Alfred, holding it in his hands for a moment before breaking the thorns off of it and tucking it into the pocket of his own coat. He wrapped his arms around Alfred’s waist again and pulled him closer. “Thank you, Alfred. It’s lovely,” he whispered.

    “Anything for you, Arthur,” Alfred said, suppressing a giggle.

    Arthur pressed another gentle kiss to Alfred’s lips, and Alfred couldn’t help but laugh. Alfred pressed soft kisses to Arthur’s cheeks and forehead, still too shy to go for Arthur’s lips on his own, but it didn’t matter much. Arthur’s lips would always find their way back to Alfred’s. They spent what felt like an eternity in that garden, lost in each other’s gentle and loving kisses as they held each other closely and tightly. It never seemed close enough for Alfred. He could never stop grabbing at Arthur’s coat and trying to pull him closer.

    “Alfred…?” Arthur whispered, pulling away again after a kiss that had been deeper than any of the others so far.

    “Yeah, Arthur…?” Alfred asked, resting his forehead against Arthur’s and closing his eyes for a moment.

    “I… Alfred, I think I love you,” Arthur said, and Alfred’s eyes shot open.

    “Wh-what did you say…?” he asked, pulling his forehead away from Arthur’s and staring at him with wide eyes.

    “I-I… I said that I love you, Alfred,” Arthur said, swallowing thickly as a pit started to form in his stomach once again.

    Maybe he shouldn’t have said that so soon… He was coming on a little strong… What if he was making Alfred too overwhelmed? The last thing he wanted to do was care Alfred away, but it seemed like he might have started to already…

    Things looked even worse when Alfred covered his mouth with his hands and started crying. Arthur’s eyes widened and he quickly pulled Alfred into a hug, trying to calm him down. “Oh, Alfred, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to make you cry I’m so sorry, I shouldn’t have said anything, I-I-”

    “No!! No, Arthur, I’m not upset I promise, I-I just can’t believe that you ever would have said that, th-the last person who’s ever told me that they love me is my mother and I never thought that I’d hear it from anyone else ever again, e-especially not from you, a-and I’m so happy…!” Alfred shouted, hugging Arthur so tightly that Arthur felt as though he would never let go.

    Arthur breathed a heavy sigh of relief, now knowing that he hadn’t scared Alfred away or made him upset. Even so, he couldn’t help but feel upset himself, realizing that this was probably the first time since his mother died that Alfred had truly felt loved by anyone. This is the most physical affection that Alfred had received in years. This is something that Alfred never thought would happen to him. It broke Arthur’s heart.

    “I-I love you too, Arthur… And I have for a long time…” Alfred whispered, burying his face in the crook of Arthur’s neck and holding him even tighter.

    “Good. I’m so glad you do, Alfred… I’m so glad…”

    Alfred and Arthur stood together in silence, holding each other as Arthur ran his fingers through Alfred’s hair. Alfred refused to move his face from Arthur’s neck the entire time they stood together. They only pulled away when they heard people starting to come into the garden from the ballroom.

    Arthur smiled faintly and bent down to pick up his mask and put it back over his face. “Come on, we better get out of here before somebody catches us,” he whispered softly.

    Alfred nodded and wiped his eyes, laughing softly. “Let’s go back to the ballroom and dance some more,”  he said.

    “That sounds wonderful,” Arthur said.

    Alfred grabbed his glasses out of his pocket and put them back on before grabbing Arthur’s hand and pulling him down a path that wasn’t as visible as the one that they had come down earlier. Alfred managed to get them past the guests who were coming into the garden without being seen. After they were in the hall, they dashed off towards the ballroom just as another song was beginning to play.

    The crowd was smaller now, since so many people had decided to go outside, so it was harder for Alfred and Arthur to keep themselves hidden from the view of Alfred’s father. Luckily, a few of the other costumes in the room had angel wings like Alfred’s, so as long as Alfred kept his face buried in Arthur’s chest, Alfred’s father wasn’t likely to see him. However, when Alfred’s father started moving across the ballroom, for some reason or another, Alfred knew that he and Arthur had to bail, or they would surely be caught.

    “Arthur, we have to get out of here. My father’s coming towards us,” Alfred whispered, looking up at his partner with a panicked look in his eyes.

    Arthur took a glance around him and quickly spotted Alfred’s father before looking back down at Alfred. “Do you think he saw us!?” he asked worriedly.

    “I don’t think so. I know he’d be moving much more quickly if he had seen us… But come on, we have to get out of here before he catches us!” Alfred replied. Arthur wasn’t allowed another word before Alfred grabbed his hand and pulled him out of the ballroom once again.

    “Where can we go now, Alfred… The ballroom isn’t safe but neither is the garden…” Arthur murmured as Alfred pulled him down the hall, obviously wanting to get as far away from the ballroom as possible.

    “Let’s go to my room, Arthur. We’ll be safe there,” Alfred told him.

    “If you say so…” Arthur muttered.

    Arthur was prepared to follow Alfred to his room without really having to be led there. Arthur may have only been to the castle once, but he could remember the way to Alfred’s room perfectly. Or, at least he thought he could. Alfred wasn’t walking in the direction that Arthur remembered at all. In fact, by the time that Alfred had stopped outside of his bedroom, Arthur was completely lost, and the door that they were standing in front of definitely didn’t look the the door that had led into Alfred’s bedroom last time…

    “Alfred, where are we?” Arthur asked, raising an eyebrow as Alfred grabbed the door handle and pushed it down.

    “My room,” Alfred said, pushing the door open and stepping inside.

    Arthur followed him, still not convinced of Alfred’s answer. He was even more put off when he saw the interior of the room that Alfred claimed to be his. It looked nothing like the room that he had been in last time he was here. It was virtually empty, save for a small bed, a bedside table, a small wardrobe, and piles of books on the floor. There was nothing lucious or extravagant about it. It was not a room fit for a Prince, and definitely not the room that Arthur had been in last time he was in the castle.

    “Alfred, this isn’t your room… Last time I was here, your room was huge and filled with decor and bigger furniture, and there was more than just books on the floor…” Arthur said as Alfred closed the door behind the both of them.

    “I got moved out of my old room as punishment for using my powers without permission. I’ve got to stay here, where I’m close to Yao, so he can keep an eye on me. Who knows when I’ll get my real room back,” Alfred said.

    Arthur’s face fell. That’s right. Of course. How could he have forgotten? He had been there when Alfred’s father had punished him for opening the gates without permission. Perhaps he had just thought… Two months would have been enough time for Alfred to have been punished.

    “Oh, right, I’d forgotten about that… I’m sorry that you’re still stuck in here, Alfred… I wish there was something I could do to get you out of it,” Arthur said quietly, forcing a sad smile.

   “S’okay. S’not your fault, Arthur,” Alfred said, shrugging.

    He took off his cape and his wings and tossed them carelessly onto the floor. His flower crown followed suit. Once he had rid himself of the more extravagant parts of his costume, he walked towards his bed and sat on it, pushing himself further onto it until he was sitting against the headboard. He folded his knees up to his chest and looked at Arthur before patting a spot next to himself on the mattress.

    “Come sit with me,” he urged, smiling faintly.

    Arthur’s smile became genuine, and he nodded subtly at Alfred’s request. He removed his mask and tossed it onto the floor beside Alfred’s discarded costume parts before walking to the bed and crawling onto it. He situated himself against the headboard and wrapped his arm around Alfred’s waist, pulling him closer. Alfred hummed faintly, and his smile broadened as he rested his head on Arthur’s shoulder.

    A silence passed between them as they sat together in the dark of Alfred’s temporary bedroom. The only light that came into the room was from the moon shining through the uncurtained window, and the light from the hallway that seeped into the room through the crack under the door. The only noise that could be heard was Alfred’s rhythmic breathing through his open mouth.

    Alfred let his head slip from Arthur’s shoulder, and rested it against his chest instead. Arthur blushed softly as he watched Alfred’s smile grow again while his eyes closed. Alfred was put at peace by the sound of Arthur’s heartbeat. It was the only thing that he wanted to focus on for now.

    Their peace lasted for a while, but it wasn’t long enough to seem like an eternity. Arthur’s gaze kept drifting back and forth between Alfred’s tranquil face and the pile of discarded costume parts that lay at the foot of the bed. The silence gave his suppressed thoughts enough time to reassemble themselves at the front of Arthur’s mind, and those thoughts included the escapade that he had gone through to get his costume, as well as the shocking revelation that had come out of it.

    In tonight’s excitement, Arthur had forgotten all about the confrontation that he had wanted to have with Alfred ever since Peter had told him about the deal that Alfred had made. They were alone now, and were sure to be uninterrupted for quite sometime. It was the perfect time for Arthur to bring the subject up. Well, assuming that Alfred hadn’t fallen asleep…

    “Alfred…?” Arthur whispered, being careful not to move around or speak loudly enough to wake him up if he were really sleeping.

    “Yeah, Arthur…?” Alfred asked, opening his eyes slowly and looking up at Arthur, not moving his head away from Arthur’s chest.

    “Oh, good, you’re awake after all…” Arthur said, and sat up a little straighter, forcing Alfred to sit up with him.

    “Are you okay, Arthur…? Is something wrong?” Alfred asked, raising an eyebrow at Arthur’s sudden movement and the change of tone in his voice.

    “I… No, nothing is- Well, I don’t know… I… I just need to talk to you about something, I suppose,” Arthur said.

    “O-oh…? Well, go ahead, then… I’m all ears…” Alfred said, though his voice was quiet, and his face seemed pale.

    “Right, well, listen… I… Well, the reason that my suit looks so lavish is because I got it from a Joker… I asked them to make me something that was fit for the ballroom of Spades, and that’s what they gave me, so…” Arthur began. He had intended to go farther in the beginning, but Alfred cut him off.

    “You got your suit from a Joker!? Arthur, what were you thinking!? I told you that Yao could have brought you a suit! What did you have to give up for it!? I’ll get it back for you I promise, I don’t care what it is I’ll make it up to you-”

    “Alfred, stop, stop, calm down,” Arthur urged, running his fingers through Alfred’s hair to try and make him calm down. “I didn’t have to give up anything for the suit. I met a Joker named Klaus who just wanted me to bring something important to another Joker named Gilbert. That’s all I had to do. And that’s not what I needed to talk to you about. It’s related to that, but that wasn’t it.”

    “Then what do you need to talk about…?” Alfred asked him, nuzzling Arthur’s hands as his fingers brushed through Alfred’s hair.

    “Klaus lived with a bunch of other young Jokers… One of them was called Peter, and Peter said… Well, Peter said that you had made a deal with him six months ago… That you had traded him a watch for a vial of poison, because you wanted to- To k-kill yourself, a-and I-I needed to talk to you about that…” Arthur explained. His voice had started out steady, but it had become shaky once he had brought up the deal. He had to bite his lip when he was finished to keep his eyes from starting to water.

    Alfred’s mouth dropped. His face went even paler than it had been before. A soft gasp escaped his lips before he covered his mouth with his hands and started shaking his head.

    “No, no, no, shit, shit, I fucked up, I fucked up, you weren’t supposed to know about that- Ever! You were never supposed to find out, no one was! No one was supposed to know, that was supposed to stay between me and the Joker, no one was supposed to know, no one was supposed to know!” he shouted, and closed his eyes as he started crying heavily.

    Arthur frowned deeply and grabbed Alfred by his shoulders, rubbing circles into them before pulling him into a tight hug and kissing his forehead tenderly. “Alfred, sweetheart, please stop crying. Please don’t be upset. It’s all in the past now, and I know that, but I still wanted to talk to you about it… I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to make you upset like this…” he whispered.

    “No, now you’re not going to want anything to do with me because I’m weak and I take the easy way out and I’m unstable and you’re upset with me and I never wanted you to know about that because I wanted you to think that I was strong but now you know I’m not and I-”

    “Hey, hey, hey, stop that, Alfred, look at me,” Arthur urged, his frown growing deeper as he pushed Alfred away from him, continuing to hold his shoulders tightly.

    Alfred opened his eyes reluctantly, unable to stop his flood of tears from pouring from his eyes. Arthur’s face softened, and he kissed Alfred’s forehead again before continuing to speak to him. “Alfred, don’t you think for even a second that you are not strong, or that I don’t think that you are strong. You have to put up with so much, so much abuse and so much pain and so much containment every day of your life, but you still somehow find the strength to keep yourself alive just because you want to see me again. You care about me even though you have no reason to care about anyone. You are the strongest fucking person that I’ve ever met in my life, Alfred. I’m not upset with you, and I’m not going to leave you. I’ve known about this for almost a week now. If I didn’t want anything to do with you, then I wouldn’t have come here tonight. I wanted to talk to you about this because I care about you. You understand that, don’t you?”

    Alfred started to calm down a little after hearing Arthur’s words. He nodded his head subtly and wiped some of his tears away with the backs of his hands. “I-I’m sorry… I-I should have known that you wouldn’t be upset… I just… M-my father would kill me himself if he ever found out, s-so I always expect the worst…” he choked out.

    Arthur couldn’t deny the fact that he was hurt by that comment. He knew that it wasn’t his fault that Alfred’s mind automatically thought the worst of him in this situation. It wasn’t Alfred’s fault, either. It was his father’s fault. But Arthur was still hurt by the fact that Alfred thought that Arthur would want to hurt him like that.

    More than anything, though, Arthur was filled with sorrow for Alfred. Alfred’s first thought when he heard that Arthur had found out about the deal was that Arthur was somehow going to leave him or punish him for it. Alfred couldn’t fathom the possibility that Arthur just wanted to help him. Alfred’s only thought was that he was going to be punished for trying to kill himself, rather than being supported and comforted because of it.

    “Alfred… I’m nothing like your father… You have to know that by now, don’t you…?” Arthur asked quietly.

    Alfred’s eyes widened, realizing that he had made Arthur upset. “No, no, of course, you’re nothing like my father! I know that, I do! I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m such an idiot I shouldn’t have said anything, I know you’d never hurt me like that but I can’t help thinking about it anyways! I’m so sorry!” he shouted, and started crying again.

    Arthur frowned again and pulled Alfred into another tight hug. He rubbed Alfred’s back and ran his fingers through Alfred’s hair gently, whispering sweet nothings into his ear until he calmed down enough for Arthur to start speaking to him properly again. “Alfred, none of this is your fault…” he whispered. “I know how your father treats you, and I understand why your first thought about this situation would be that I was going to hurt you, but I promise you, it will never happen. I will never hurt you. I promise.”

    “I know, I know… I’m sorry…” Alfred whispered, keeping his face buried in Arthur’s chest, and clinging tightly to the fabric of his coat.

    “I came here tonight to have fun with you, Alfred. I told you earlier that I loved you, and I meant it. I do love you, Alfred. I’ll tell you that as many times as I need to for you to believe it. I wanted to talk to you about this because I care about you, and I just want to make sure that it won’t happen again. I don’t know what I’d do if I found out that you were dead, Alfred. You are so important to me. I need you. You have to promise me that you won’t ever try something like that again,” Arthur said.

    “I love you too, Arthur. I promise I won’t try something like that again. Not as long as I have you,” Alfred murmured.

    “I’m never going to leave you for as long as I live, Alfred. I’m going to make you happy someday, I promise,” Arthur said.

    Alfred smiled faintly and looked up at him. “What are you talking about, Arthur? You already make me happy.”

    Arthur blushed and averted his eyes, laughing softly. “I’m glad you think so, Alfred. You make me happy, too.”

    Alfred pulled away from Arthur and laid down on the bed. Arthur looked down at him before he grabbed Arthur’s arm and pulled Arthur down beside him. Arthur squeaked in surprise as his head hit the mattress, and Alfred immediately settled his own head on top of Arthur’s chest. Arthur smiled at him before wrapping his arms around Alfred’s waist and holding him tightly.

    They stayed together, cuddling each other and giving each other soft and gentle kisses until Alfred became tired enough to fall asleep again. Truth be told, Arthur was also tired enough to fall asleep, but he knew that that posed a problem for both of them. If they were to fall asleep together, they would surely be caught, and the last thing either of them needed to wake up to was a furious King of Spades.

    “Hey, Alfred?” Arthur asked, sitting up a little, and causing Alfred’s head to slide from Arthur’s chest to his stomach.

    “Yeah?” Alfred asked, looking up at him once again.

    “As much as I would love to stay here and fall asleep with you… It is getting rather late, and I think that I should be going before we end up getting into trouble,” Arthur said.

    Alfred’s face fell, and he averted his eyes as he lifted his head off of Arthur’s stomach and sat up. “Oh, yeah… I guess we should find Yao so that you can get out of here…” he said quietly.

    Arthur leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss to Alfred’s temple. “Hey, don’t be upset, love. You know we’ll see each other again before long. Besides, we had a good time tonight, didn’t we?” he asked.

    Alfred smiled and let out a soft giggle. “The best,” he said.

    “And next time we see each other, it’ll be even better,” Arthur assured.

    “Yeah!” Alfred exclaimed, and jumped up from the bed, smiling broadly.

    Arthur chuckled softly and climbed out of bed, as well. Alfred picked up his discarded costume parts and put them back on, and Arthur put his mask back on. Once both of them were dressed up again, Alfred ran to the door and pulled it open.

    “So where is Yao, anyways?” Arthur asked as the two of them stepped into the hallway.

    Alfred shrugged. “He’s probably in the ballroom. If not, he’s in the garden. We’ll find him,” he said.

    “Fair enough,” Arthur said, and followed Alfred as he began to lead the way back to the ballroom.

    There was no one in the hallway as they approached the ballroom. The doors were closed, but the muffled sound of music could still be heard from outside. It sounded livelier inside the ballroom than it had sounded earlier, which probably meant that everyone had shifted from the garden and back into the ballroom. That meant it would be easy to hide from Alfred’s father in the crowd once again, but it might be a little challenging to find Yao.

    As they drew closer to the ballroom’s doors, Arthur found himself thinking that he wasn’t ready to leave just yet. Not without one more kiss. Not without one more burst of excitement to tide him over until the next time that he would be able to see Alfred again.

    As Alfred reached for the handle on one of the doors, Arthur grabbed him by his shoulder and pulled him back. Alfred squeaked in surprise as Arthur pushed him against the wall and pinned him to it, gently, but somewhat forcefully. Alfred stared at Arthur as Arthur pushed his mask up and went in for another kiss.

    This one was deeper, and much messier. Alfred couldn’t very well keep up with it. All he could do was lean back against the wall as Arthur’s lips devoured his. All he could do was close his eyes and try to keep quiet while Arthur’s tongue roved around the inside of Alfred’s mouth.

    “Oh my Aces- Alfred! What the fuck is going on here!?”

    Both Arthur’s and Alfred’s blood ran cold. Even Arthur recognized the furious voice that had shouted at them as they were making out in the hall. Arthur quickly pulled away from Alfred and let his mask drop. He only dared to gaze at Alfred’s father out of the corner of his eye. He could already see the livid King storming towards them. He obviously had not been in the ballroom prior to this point, as he was coming at them from the direction that Alfred and Arthur had come from to get to the ballroom.

    “Alfred, we need to get out of here. Now,” Arthur whispered firmly, though he knew that Alfred was too petrified to react to him.

    Arthur grabbed Alfred’s arm tightly and pulled him away from the wall where they had been standing together. The King’s pace quickened, and Arthur pulled the ballroom door open just in time to slip through it with Alfred and let it close in the King’s face. Arthur didn’t look behind him as he pulled Alfred with him into the crowd of people that had gathered in the ballroom. He kept his eyes peeled for Yao, praying to the Aces that he could find the Jack before it was too late.

    “Alfred, come on… You’ve got to snap out of this… I need your help to find Yao…” Arthur whispered as his eyes darted around the crowd. He had stopped running by now. His heart was about to pound out of his chest as he continued to pray that Alfred’s father wouldn’t catch up to them.

    “Over… Over there…” Alfred murmured, and pointed behind himself and Arthur.

    Arthur spun on his heels to look in the direction that Alfred was pointing. A wave of relief swept over him as he spotted the Jack standing alone at the other end of the room. Arthur and Alfred could make it to him in time.

    “Good, that’s good, Alfred. Now come on, we have to get to him. Run with me, okay?” Arthur urged, tearing his gaze away from Yao to look at Alfred.

    Alfred nodded, but swallowed thickly. Arthur pressed a soft kiss to the top of Alfred’s head before pulling him towards Yao. Alfred did his best to keep up with Arthur’s pace, and the boys made it to Yao without being seen by Alfred’s father.

    “Yao- Yao! You have to help us- The King is on our tail and I need to get out of here, now,” Arthur explained as he and Alfred approached Yao, both of them out of breath and looking pale.

    Yao’s eyes widened at Arthur’s outburst, and he quickly scanned the crowd for Alfred’s father to see just where he was. When he saw the King struggling against the crowd to try to find Alfred and Arthur, Yao’s face hardened. He quickly grabbed both Alfred and Arthur by their arms and pulled them towards the ballroom’s exit.

    “Idiots! What the hell were you doing to get caught by the King!? He should’ve been in your sight the whole time!” Yao whisper-shouted as he pulled the boys through the hallways as quickly as possible.

    “I-I’m sorry! It’s a-all my fault, I snuck Arthur into my room so we could be alone for a little while, I-I didn’t know that Father wouldn’t be in the ballroom!” Alfred said frantically.

    “No, Alfred, it’s my fault. I shouldn’t have kissed you in the hall like that I should have just let us get into the ballroom to find Yao,” Arthur protested.

    “Wait, what-!?” Yao shouted. He had half a mind to stop walking then and there, but he knew that he couldn’t. He kept running.

    “You two were kissing each other in the hallway?? How did it even come to that and why did you think for even a second that that was a good idea!?” he demanded.

    “I-it’s a long story, Yao, I promise I’ll tell you later but right now we just need to get Arthur out of here!” Alfred urged.

    Yao let out a soft growl of annoyance. “The things I do for you, boy…”

    Alfred was told to go to his room and stay out of the way while Yao helped Arthur get out of the castle again. Alfred protested, of course, begging Yao to let him help get Arthur to safety, but Yao was adamant. Alfred was to go to his room and wait for Yao to come see him. With a heavy yet fast-beating heart, Alfred bid Arthur goodbye and ran to his room to hide from his father and wait for Yao.

    Yao led Arthur deep into the dungeons of Spades Castle, once again planning to release him through the hidden passageway at the back of the underground prison. It was darker this time than it had been last time, mostly because it was the middle of the night, but it couldn’t be helped. Arthur would have to escape through the passageway regardless, and he would have to find his way back to Safirheim on his own.

    Yao helped him more this time than last time, though. He refused to let Arthur go down the passageway by himself at night, when there was absolutely no light to see by, even through the cracks in the wooden parts of the ceiling. After Yao had opened the passageway, he had forced Arthur into it and ran inside with him.

    Yao led Arthur down the passageway quickly. It wasn’t much of a challenge since all they had to do was place their hands on either side of the wall and follow it to the end, but Yao wanted to make sure that Arthur didn’t hurt himself while walking, and that he could get out of the trapdoor at the end easily. When they reached the end of the passage, Yao opened the trapdoor above them and lifted Arthur up so that he could get out of it without trouble.

    “I have to go back to Alfred, so I can’t help you get back to the village. You’re going to have to get there on your own. Do you think you can do that, Arthur?” Yao asked, looking up at Arthur once he was standing aboveground.

    Arthur nodded determinedly. “Yeah, I’m sure I can,” he assured. “Please go to Alfred. Please keep him safe. Don’t let his father hurt him- This is my fault and Alfred can’t be punished for it. Please make up some excuse for him- I just want him to be okay,” he begged. His voice cracked on the last sentence. It took every ounce of willpower in him to keep his eyes from watering.

    “I promise I’ll do all that I can for him, Arthur. I do care about him. I will protect him,” Yao promised.

**  
** “You better,” Arthur said, and his face hardened as he closed the trapdoor and ran off towards Safirheim.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M SO FUCKING GLAD THAT I GOT THIS DONE BY HALLOWEEN!!! I know it's not very Halloween themed beyond the fact that it takes place on All Hallow's Eve, but still, I really wanted to be able to upload it today!! Ahhh I had so much fun writing this chapter??? It didn't turn out quite as romantic as I had been hoping, but maybe that's because I've had the notes written out for months or something? Who knows. Anyways, hope you enjoyed this chapter, and let's hope that our cliffhanger gets a happy ending next chapter...


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